Serialously with Annie Elise - 167: Spoiled Millionaire Teenagers Snapchat Murder and Brag About It | The Brutal Murder of Preston Lord

Episode Date: June 17, 2024

What was once just one murder has now turned into a convoluted case involving years of attacks, lies, and possible cover-ups that all began to unravel after what happened on October 28th, 2023. That night, a violent attack against 16-year-old Preston Lord, shocked the East Valley region of Arizona. 2 days later, Preston died from his injuries, and the community was left wondering what exactly happened.  Cremo: You can find all the new, decadent scents of Cremo Women’s Body Wash at Walgreens and CVS OR https://www.CremoCompany.com  Athena Club: Head over to https://www.AthenaClub.com to get 30% off your purchase with code SERIAL at checkout. Quince: Go to https://www.Quince.com/ae for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.  Hero Bread: Hero Bread is offering 10% off your order. Go to https://www.hero.co and use code AE at checkout. Beam Head to https://www.shopbeam.com/ANNIEELISE and use code ANNIEELISE for an additional 40% off. Don’t forget supplies are limited and you can only shop it through my link. Shop the Merch: www.annieelise.com Follow the podcast on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@serialouslypodcast   Follow the podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serialouslypod/       Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annieelise     All Social Media Links: https://www.flowcode.com/page/annieelise_    SERIALously FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/SERIALouslyAnnieElise/    About Me: https://annieelise.com/   For Business Inquiries: [e-mail]  Sources: Arizona’s Family News/3TV Fox 10 Phoenix Chandler News KTAR AZ Mirror ABC 15 12 News Audio Credits: AZ Family News/3TV Fox 10 Phoenix ABC 15 Daily Mail

Hey, true crime besties, welcome back to an all new episode of Serialistly. Hey, everybody, welcome back to an all new episode of Serialistly with me, Annie Elise. I hope you guys are having a good start to your day. I am probably once again about to ruin it. No, but seriously, today's case is kind of infuriating and it's one of it. I don't know why more people aren't talking about it. And so whether you are driving, cleaning, sitting at your house, whatever it is you're doing right now, just like get ready and get in the right state of mind. Get Zen because we're gonna kind of go on a little bit of a roller coaster today. But as I mentioned, the case we're talking about today, it isn't talked about very much. And after you learn the details of this too, I think that you'll wonder just like I have, like,

why is that? Why? You'll be surprised. Like, why aren't more people talking about it? It should be covered like crazy. And the details of it definitely make it seem like it would be covered like crazy. So why wasn't this making national headlines? Well, some people believe that a very wealthy and affluent community are the ones who made it that way. But now, what was once just one murder has turned into this very convoluted case involving just like years of attacks. There's years of lies, possible cover-ups, so much. And all of this began to unravel after what happened on October 28, 2023. That night, a very violent attack against 16-year-old Preston Lord shocked the entire East Valley region of Arizona. Two days later, Preston ended up dying from his injuries, and the community was really

left wondering what exactly happened here. Then, shortly after Preston's tragic death, I mean, stories of similar violent attacks in the area just began to surface. And the one thing that all of these attacks had in common? Well, it was an alleged gang of teenagers and young adults. And the majority of these members, guys, all came from local affluent families. So as all of these stories spread, people couldn't help but draw parallels between all of the attacks that were happening and also with Preston's death. And it really didn't take long after that

for the community to suspect that the knowledge of these crimes had actually been purposefully hidden, all to protect reputations and livelihoods. At least, that's really what everybody thought, until one day the police made several arrests, all at once. Now to understand this case fully, we first have to talk about what happened to Preston. Preston Lord lived with his family in a suburb right outside

of Phoenix, Arizona. The suburb that he lived in was known as the East Valley. Now, the East Valley is known for its large houses, its affluent neighborhoods, and also just very wealthy families in general. Preston was just 16 years old, and he was a junior at Combs High School. Preston had a pretty good reputation as well. He was known as just like an all-around good and kind person. He had a lean athletic build, he had light colored hair, dark eyes. He was a stereotypical teenage boy, actually. I mean, he loved to play video games, loved playing sports, eating junk food, and of course, spending time with his friends. Now, not only did he play on his high school basketball, football, and golf teams, but he was also a very accomplished student. So on Saturday, October 28th, 2023, Preston ended up going to a Halloween party with some friends.

The party was located in the Queen Creek area of the East Valley, and this party was huge, guys. I mean, hundreds of people were there. And the party actually got so big and grew to this size because it had been posted on social media, almost like marketed, like, hey, come one, come all, everybody come to this huge rager. And the post said that there was going to be alcohol to invite friends. And so, I mean, it really drew in tons and tons of people. But it also wasn't the only party that was happening in the area that night. Around 9 p.m., the Queen Creek Police Department received a phone call about a disturbance that was happening over at a different party, right down the road from where Preston had been. The police responded to the call. They saw a few teenagers walking around, but there was nothing really alarming.

Then they received an urgent call about a domestic incident that was happening somewhere else, so they had to leave the area and go to that call. But then, about an hour later, at 9 40 p.m., the police received a very, very frantic 911 call now he's been unconscious for like two minutes i we need people over here so there's one person that's unconscious and then another person with a broken wrist yeah so there's some lifeguards here so they're helping him out getting him in a safe position so he doesn't need to be when the police arrived and they got onto the scene, Preston was found lying unconscious, just right there on the street.

But by the time that the police got there, whoever was involved in attacking Preston was nowhere to be found. Preston just lied there, unresponsive, and a group of teenagers ended up surrounding him. And when emergency medical responders arrived, they found that Preston's heart was not beating. They were trying to do whatever they could to resuscitate Preston, so they used a defibrillator to restart his heart, and then they ended up taking him to the hospital. But Preston was in critical condition. He had severe injuries to his neck and to his head.

He was eventually transferred to a children's hospital in Phoenix, but once he got there, the doctors were able to see that Preston had a very traumatic brain injury, and he needed extensive care. But what they thought would be extensive care and perhaps help Preston continue to live, it wasn't going to work out that way. Because just two days after the attack, on October 30th, Preston unfortunately succumbed to his injuries. And afterward, the Queen Creek Police Department ruled his death as a homicide and they opened up an investigation into the attack. My daughter just had a party on Saturday, was just supposed to be her friends. Just turned out to be a lot of people that were not invited ended up showing up to the party.

A Halloween party in a Queen Creek Creek ne deadly. The homeowner whe did not want his face on after 16 year old Preston in his neighborhood. Famil was rushed to the hospital but died days later. This We can't sleep. We're jus of him and his family. Th

he kicked everyone out just two hours after the party started, saying the attack on Lord happened later in the street. It's just very disheartening to see this, and it's one of the most horrific cases that you can see. Now, you would think that somebody would know exactly what happened to Preston, right? I mean, what started the fight? Who else was involved? There were hundreds of people there. Surely somebody must have seen something, right? I mean, rumors and videos from the night just began swirling all over social media. But still, throughout the investigation, the police were remaining pretty tight-lipped about everything.

Meanwhile, the community was mourning the loss of Preston. They all came together to support his family, and people even wore orange because that was Preston's favorite color, and they wanted to wear that in honor of him. Orange ribbons were and still are seen throughout the entire community as well. There were candlelight vigils, marches, town meetings, all different things were being held to really bring awareness to Preston's death, hoping to also get answers as to who was responsible for this. He was an innocent 16-year-old child going to a high school party. I mean, you don't think that when you send a teenager out to a party or they go to a party that they're going to end up dead. Who was responsible for this truly barbaric attack? Preston's death impacted not only the community, but anybody who heard

about what was going on. Anybody who heard about the case, anybody who heard what had happened, because Preston's aunt had ended up setting up a GoFundMe for the family, and just by early November, it had raised over almost $100,000 in donations. I mean, it was massive. A movement called Justice for Preston also began, where people were just really demanding answers about what had happened. People were absolutely relentless in the pursuit for justice. They even started their own town hall subcommittees to address teen violence in the area. Then it finally felt like something was happening. There was movement in the case because in early November,

many streets in the Gilbert neighborhoods were shut down by the police department. Police drove into the streets with armored cars. They escorted people in and out of their homes. They patrolled the streets while detectives went inside these homes and searched numerous residences and detectives left each home with multiple bags of evidence. However, despite this search, the police were still keeping relatively silent about the entire thing. They weren't really sharing at all what they had found. Also, not really sharing what they were even looking for. The community was grief-stricken, looking for answers.

Not only were they absolutely heartbroken for Preston's family, but they had to wonder, could my child be next? And why was it taking so long to get answers? In an age where everybody has phones and everything is being recorded, why wasn't there more information being released from that night? My name is Melissa Sakanchi. to get answers. In an age where everybody has phones and everything is being recorded, why wasn't there more information being released from that night? My name is Melissa Sacconti. Good evening. I lived in Chandler for the past 13 years. I am the stepmother of Preston Lord. And if you're not familiar with Preston, he was brutally attacked at a Halloween party on October 28thth of last year which resulted in his death

he recently celebrated turning 16 years old when this horrendous act and devastating loss occurred this tragedy abruptly altered our lives forever this has been a nightmare that we have endured for the past 75 days without resolution prestonon's death is a high profile investigation case. Preston is more than a headline. He is a son. He was a son, a brother, and a friend. Preston was an upstanding young man. While no number of words can fully describe him,

I will list some of his attributes to help you get to know who he was. He was a junior at Combs High School, although he did live with us in Chandler. A member of the basketball and golf team, he was very academic, and he received the 2023 President's Education Award from the U.S. Secretary of Education. Additionally, he was a leader of the Honor Society and involved with student council. Preston was content and appreciative of anything that was given or done for him. He was loyal, respectful, trustworthy, and responsible. He had empathy for children and was gentle and kind.

He stood up for the weaker person, and he knew the difference between right and wrong. He inspired many people to be better and to do better. And now that you know what an extraordinary person Preston was, let's discuss why I'm here tonight. Preston's death was impacted not only the Chandler community but the entire East Valley. At the Halloween party that Preston attended,

there was teenagers from Mesa, Queen Creek, Santan Valley, Gilbert, Chandler, and Alatuke. Many residents, including myself, were concerned about safety and the presence of teen violence and bullying in our community. Our children are sent to school to get an education and to prepare them to be an upstanding and contributing member of society.

When children are afraid, okay, that didn't go, afraid of their lives, This is a grave concern. We should not be afraid in our own communities. The Grassroot Campaign, be an upstander and not a bystander. If you know something, say something, was initiated by Katie McPherson and supported by the Lord family.

I want Chandler and all the schools in Chandler to be led by this campaign. We will provide kids necessary to begin. It will be a slow process, but together we do better. This campaign consists of promoting and educating youth on teen violence and bullying. The goal is to decrease the incidence of these acts both in and out of the school arena, initiate mandatory education sessions in school, and provide resources for families and counselors. Our goal is to keep our children safe.

The devastating loss of Preston's life was due to unnecessary violence. Our child will never be coming home. And we need to prevent this from ever happening again. Empowering our youth and building their self-confidence, worth, and value will support their outlook on life and give them the courage to stand up to bullying. We would love this campaign to be in Preston's honor. Thank you for considering this request. And like I said earlier, Preston wasn't known to get into trouble, not at all. He was a good kid.

So what caused him to be so extensively and savagely just attacked, brutally? Well, as you can imagine, the rumor mill started going pretty wild, like it always does, especially when there are no answers. People then start spinning and making things up. It's like a game of telephone. And it wasn't long until people started concocting stories about what happened and who was involved, who was behind the attack. And these stories that were coming out, they all had one thing in common. And it was the one name that popped up over and over again. And that name was the Gilbert Goons. Now, according to some teenagers in the area, the Gilbert Goons was a very well-known group of affluent boys around 16 to 20 years old.

They all attended various East Valley high schools, and they were kind of known for assaulting people at random, seemingly for no reason at all. They also refer to themselves as the quote, goonies, and they had been attacking teens apparently in the East Valley area since back in 2022, so about a year before Preston's death. Take me back, October 28th, what happened to Preston Lord? Preston Lord is a 16-year-old kid who went to a Halloween party on October 28th and he never came home. He was fatally beaten at that party and he died two days later. Most accounts say that there was some kind of fight, that Preston Lord was a target and that he wasn't just beaten up by one kid, but a gang of kids. And that's what happened on October 28th. They left his body lying in the street. And police were called to the scene once for the party, which was in a neighborhood of

ranch homes, wealthy ranch homes sprawling. It's a very nice neighborhood, very quiet, very dark. But on this night, there were hundreds of kids in the streets, pouring over, walking through lawns. If you talk to neighbors there and see the videotape, it was so packed with cars, you couldn't get to your own home if you lived in the neighborhood. And in the midst of all of this, police showed up in Queen Creek. Police were called about a disturbance. They got there. The party was in what neighbors say was full swing. They did nothing to shut down the party. They left because they received a priority call. I believe they referred to it as a domestic violence call.

And an hour later, this fight broke out and Preston Lord died or was beaten into unconsciousness on the street. And police came back and found his body in the street. Several people at the party apparently tried to perform CPR. They lifted his body. I've seen some video of the attack or the aftermath of the attack. They tried to perform CPR and they couldn't revive him. He was, of course, taken to the hospital and then transferred and died two days later. Do we have a reason? People keep asking,

why Preston? Well, we don't know the answer to that. If there was a motive involved, we haven't heard it yet. But what I've been able to learn in the last month, I got involved in this really on Thanksgiving Day or the day before Thanksgiving. I was asked to look into the Preston Lord case and I became immediately aware of a series of attacks that had gone on for about a year in Gilbert, in Mesa, in Santan Valley of attacks by a group of kids calling themselves the Gilbert Goons. And part of their fun, their Friday night fun, was to go target random strangers, random kids, and attack them in gang form. I call them blitz- style attacks. They're quick. They involve multiple attackers. They knock people to the ground. They use brass knuckles, feet. Stomping is a big part of this. And in the context of that, the community, mothers in the community have said that, and parents and students have told us that this is why Preston Lord died. This group of Gilbert goons attacked Preston Lord in the same manner that they'd attacked others.

And it had gone unchecked for a year. Now, although this group was apparently notorious among teenagers because they were within the same age range, this was the very first time that many adults were even hearing of this group. They had no idea that this group existed. But the teenagers were in the know, not only because of the age group and because they knew some of them from the high schools, but also because apparently this group frequently posted their criminal activity all over social media, as though it's like a badge of honor. They were also known to threaten people into silence, so many victims never even came forward about attacks that they had endured. Bystanders were also silenced because they would fear that they would be next if they

were to say anything. Which I do have to say, it's kind of crazy when you think about it that this group of boys, literally boys, I get some of them were legally adults, but like 16 to 20 year old boys, that they carry that much weight to where even bystanders are scared to come forward. Now I understand a lot of adults didn't know about this group at the time so I definitely think it's understandable that teenagers had a little bit more fear because you're younger you think that they're really scary and truth be told they are scary. I mean look at these attacks and look what happened to Preston but I do find it weird because not often do we hear of gang violence that's coming from a very wealthy neighborhood with little like spoiled rich

boys. You know what I mean? It's kind of odd. It's very interesting. Not to mention the fact that they apparently were so scary that it put people into silence. People feared them. However, after Preston's death, some of these victims finally decided to speak up. In the months that followed Preston's death, in November and December, four people reported being assaulted by the Gilbert goons, all in different separate attacks. In one incident, a boy was apparently just standing right outside one of the In-N-Out locations in Gilbert. He was approached by this group of boys. They told him, hey, give us 20 bucks, give me 20 bucks, but when the boy refused, the group then said that they were going to steal his car. So the boy turned around to leave to get away from these weirdos, but they ended up punching him in the back of the head.

He turned around, and when he did, he saw a boy standing there wearing brass knuckles. And for those of you who are not familiar with brass knuckles, it's exactly what it sounds like. It's a big piece of brass that has holes in it where it fits over your knuckles, just like almost like a big ring, but for four fingers. And it makes it incredibly painful when you punch somebody because you're having brass on. It's like essentially punching them with a bat or a weapon. And this kid in front of In-N-Out, who was like pressing this guy for 20 bucks, decided to punch him with brass knuckles in the back of the head. When he saw that, he was obviously very fearful because this guy was like unhinged, so he ran right off to his car. But then later, he actually had to go to the

hospital because he had to receive treatment for a cracked skull. Then in the summer of 2023, in another attack, another Gilbert goon member named William Owen Hines assaulted somebody with his car. Then in a separate incident, just six days before Preston's attack, a mom reported that her son was attacked in downtown Gilbert. Stories of the Gilbert goon attacks and kind of their notorious reign over the area, it started gaining more traction after Preston's death. So had they been the ones that started the fight that resulted in Preston's death? I mean, now the community was demanding more than just justice for Preston. They were demanding justice for all the victims of the Gilbert goons. And what was interesting is that the victims of all of these attacks, they didn't have anything in common. The group didn't target

just one type of person, but many of the attacks were in the same few places. Parking lots, fast food restaurants, parties, things like that. Very high school. Feels very high school, right? Now, the attacks were also posted on social media, mostly on TikTok and Snapchat, and they all followed a very similar pattern. They would jump someone, they'd surround them to then prevent them from escaping, then they would all just kind of gang up on this one person and attack them over and over and over again. Punching, kicking, tackling, even when the victim isn't fighting back, when they're just lying there on the ground. They jump them and they all just start wailing on this poor victim. Members of the group also posted pictures on social media with

themselves holding guns, driving recklessly, and also just committing various other crimes like theft. I mean, they really felt like they were thugs, like they were tough, and they were trying to brag about it, trying to flex on it. On top of this, the group was also known to send very threatening messages, telling people they needed to watch out or they were going to be next, things like that. They also sent messages threatening to attack victims again if they ever said anything, effectively just silencing them. And these threats weren't idle threats. They weren't all talk. Because if their victims ever did tell anybody who had hurt them and the members of the goons found out, they would target the victim's entire family. They would follow them, sit outside their house at night,

race up and down the street, vandalize their homes, really just be a complete nuisance trying to instill fear into these already once victims of theirs i mean it's truly horrible and unfortunately i wish i could say that it was put to a stop and that things got better but as more stories came out it just got worse so we are going to get into all of that but first we are going to take a quick break and hear from today's sponsors thank you guys for first we are going to take a quick break and hear from today's sponsors. Thank you guys for understanding. Sponsors are essential to keeping the podcast free. Okay, so all of these reports are coming out about the Gilbert goons, how they instill fear, how they jump people, how they pride themselves on this, and they blast it all over social media like it's a badge of honor. I mean, it's all finally starting to surface. So initially,

the police department that was investigating Preston's homicide, Queen Creek, they denied even knowing of this gang. However, then in late December of 2023, the Gilbert Police Department, which is another city in East Valley, reported that they were investigating cases from the past two years, cases that may have involved the gang. They ended up releasing pictures of the attacks to the public, asking anybody for help to identify anybody who was in these photos. The Gilbert Police Department said that they did have reports of several teens that were attacked, but the victims had never mentioned the name Gilbert Goons. So the police apparently never connected that all of these incidents were from the same people, the same attackers.

Which honestly is kind of crazy since that In-N-Out alone had over five separate attacks reported. Clearly, there was some sort of common thread, at least for the location piece of it. Then, one attack in particular started receiving more attention after Preston's death. One high school student named Tristan had started receiving threatening messages from boys that were associated in the Gilbert Goons. This was in the summer of 2023, the summer leading up to Preston's death. One member had messaged Tristan on Snapchat, claiming that Tristan was, quote, next. In those same messages, Tristan expressed confusion as to why, because he didn't even know any of the members of this alleged gang, and he had never done anything to upset them. Now, even though it was during summer, Tristan ended up reporting these threats to his school,

hoping that maybe the school would step in, maybe they would help him. Tristan's dad even requested a meeting with the school administration, and also with the parents of the boy who was threatening his son. But get this, the school told him that the parents of the boy making the threats, well, they declined the meeting. So he said, there's nothing I can do. The parents declined the meeting, so I can't help you. Which, of course, they're declining the meeting because they don't want to acknowledge or get their boy into trouble. But like, what do you mean there's nothing you can do? Force the meeting. Force the meeting.

It makes no sense. And it just got worse after that. These Gilbert goons, which I just hate saying that name. It is so lame. They started showing up at Tristan's house after this. They were banging on his door. They were yelling at him to come outside. And in one instance, Tristan was alone when these boys arrived at his house. His dad was out walking their dog and Tristan was so scared that he texted him. He's like, hurry home, please hurry home. Then when his dad ended up getting closer to the house, the boys all just like hopped in their cars and drove away, which that should also be an indication of what type of group this truly was. We already know that they're spoiled, young, rich little boys, right? Who privilege and they think they're tough. I mean, they are tough because they are like wailing on people, but you know what

I mean? But then it's like when an adult enters the scene, they run like a little bitch scared, they hop in their cars and speed off. Whereas like truly truly, I'm just for using for comparison, if it were a true, not a true gang, because this is a gang, but if it were like, a super mega dangerous gang who was as tough as they were claiming to be and all those things like that probably wouldn't spook them and threaten them. But it kind of just like the reason I say all of that is because it just shows what little puny dweebs these guys really were like they were just privileged little assholes who thought that they were tough and thought that they were cool to beat people up it was pathetic and scary and not acceptable but like pathetic just loser bill so anyway the dad gets close to the house the the boys all like run scared, hop in their cars, they drive away. But then once they were away from the house and away from his dad, they got tough,

they felt tougher, because the threats did not stop. And now they started threatening Tristan's dad, which it's like, if you had something to say to the dad, why not say it when you were out front of the house? Why run it scared. But now that they were away, they felt tough again. So now they're texting, they're threatening, they're doing all these things. I mean, it's just crazy. But of course, they would never approach an adult. They were too scared to do that, too cowardly to do that. They had to pick on people younger. They had to pick on someone either their own size or smaller. Because on August 18th, 2023, which was just about two months before Preston was attacked, Tristan also went to that in-and-out location in Gilbert with a friend. Now, almost as soon as they parked the car and got out

of their car, the group that had been harassing Tristan all that time, they jumped him. They tackled him to the ground. Tristan got up and he tried to run, but he was then tackled again. And after that, he was violently beaten. The attackers eventually stopped wailing on him, but they ended up taking Tristan's shoes before then taking off, like one, whether it's a trophy or they wanted to steal them because they were nice shoes, whatever it may be, they just beat him up, left him there, grabbed his shoes, and they took off. Then after that, they apparently decided they wanted to gloat, because a video of the attack was later shared on social media.

And this video showed Tristan lying on the ground in the fetal position as these kids were attacking him. He wasn't even fighting back in this video and these Gilbert goons were just kicking him over and over and over again. There was also a picture of his shoes that was shared on social media and the caption on this picture said, thanks for the free shoes. It's like they were proud of what they were doing and they thought that it was cool, which also if you're smart, you're probably not posting self-incriminating evidence of theft, of violence, of gang activity. You just got to ask yourselves like, who are these losers, right? Tristan ended up going to the emergency room for all of his injuries, and he was so shaken up by the attack that he was scared to leave his own house.

He was still receiving threats from all of these members of the Gilbert goons, and they were also, on top of the threats, sending him photos of guns, threatening him if he would say anything, things like that. And it got worse for Tristan, because eventually his dad ended up sending him overseas to go live with his mom because he was suffering from PTSD from the entire thing. He was scared to even leave the house. Tristan's dad did the right thing as all of this happened. He reported the incident to the police and told them what happened when it happened, but the Gilbert Police Department offered very little help. They told him that in order to do anything, they needed more information, even though there was video evidence. It was only after Preston Lord's death that the Gilbert Police Department even started looking into the incident seriously, which baffles me, because had

they actually done their job and looked into it, Preston very well may still be alive. Tristan's dad actually ended up filing a lawsuit for $6 million against the parents of the attackers and also against Tristan's school, because he claimed that they were all responsible for the trauma that his son had suffered from. He said that these parents knew what was happening, knew what their children were up to, but that they refused to do anything about it. Which, speaking of, remember how the school refused to do anything because the parents, quote, declined the meeting?

Get this. Soon after that lawsuit was filed, a local East Valley elementary school principal named Jamie Lander was put on leave. Now, it was reported that her stepson was involved in the attack on Tristan, and that she allegedly coached him to lie to the police about what had happened. Which I have to say, that's pretty crazy, right? I mean, who would ever think that by calling the school to report that your kid is being attacked, that the person responsible for the attack, that their parent not only worked in the same school district, but that they allegedly also tried to help cover it up.

So of course, once this started surfacing, I mean, it was very unsurprising that this led to even more conspiracies to just spread all throughout the Gilbert and Queen Creek area. And it even gave some credence to those initial whispers around town, the ones about how maybe these violent crimes all went unnoticed for so long because the Gilbert goons were children of affluent community members, people who cared more about their image, their livelihood, than actually raising stand-up boys. So while the Gilbert Police Department was investigating cases associated with the Gilbert goons, the Queen Creek Police Department was continuing to investigate Preston's death. And then finally, in late December 2023, a girl came forward and said that her boyfriend had been

involved in the attack on Preston. This girl said that she had been involved with the Gilbert goons for months. Her involvement in the group apparently caused her life to just spiral out of control. She was doing drugs, she was drinking, her grades were dropping, and apparently she was also aiding in these goons in their attacks. At the time, she had only started recently distancing herself from the Gilbert goons, but she had been at both parties on the night of October 28th. In fact, she had even spoken to the police officers when they first showed up at that first party the night of Preston's attack. Apparently, she told these officers that the party inside the house was getting out of hand, but the officers, I guess,

claimed that it was fine, and so they left. The girl said that she did not witness Preston's attack, but said that the Gilbert goons arrived in two separate cars. She knew that a fight had started after she arrived because a crowd started moving further down the street. She stayed outside by her car, and eventually her boyfriend, a member of the Gilbert Goons, ran up to her, and apparently he claimed, I knocked that kid out. Later, he posted a picture on Snapchat with the caption, I hit a kid, and this kid fell, hit his head, and then they kicked his head into the ground. Then I got word he died. So I don't know.

Which again, what kind of moron are you to be posting stuff like this on social media? It kind of gives me a flashback to Aiden Fucci in the Tristan Bailey case. Remember when the police took him in for questioning where he's in the back of the cop car? He hadn't been arrested yet. He was just going down for questioning because he was the last person to be seen with her. And he takes his phone out and he goes on Snapchat and he starts posting Snapchat videos being like, Tristan, where are you at? Can't believe I'm in the back of a cop car right now. Like, kind of trying to flex, kind of trying to brag like he was tough. Like, why am I in a cop car?

Looking almost for people to DM him and message him I don't know if you DM on snapchat but you get what I'm saying like message him be like oh my god what happened like he loved the attention meanwhile he was the one who had killed Tristan the night before which that case is like horrifically barbaric if you're not familiar justice for Tristan you definitely should I just realized there's two Tristans we're talking about today. But anyway, I'm just saying like, the pattern of these young Gen Z kids, it's crazy to me. Like, you'd rather flex and look tough on social media and not realizing you're totally going to get caught, which thank you. Thank you for being such a moron and making the police's job way easier to collect the evidence like aces to you. So anyways, he posts all of this on social

media, and then the girl ends up coming anyways, he posts all of this on social media and then the girl ends up coming out, coming forward, sharing all of this information with the police. And not long after that girl came forward, on December 28th, two months after the fateful night at the party when Preston was attacked, the Queen Creek Police Department finally announced that they were submitting charges. But get this, th against seven suspects in these charges were all go office. Names of the indi but the police department

and adults were involved even then the police did or not, Preston's death w the Gilbert goons. They j we're making these arrest. Some are kids, summer adults. We're not giving the names. The Gilbert Police Department releasing new information regarding

three arrests that they made today. Just minutes ago they said that they've arrested three people in connection with two teen violent, two teen violent assaults that happened here in the Gilbert area. We are aware that one of those arrests actually happened at this home right here in this area

near Williamsfield and the Loop 202. Those arrests happening just a few hours ago. Neighbors sending us in photos showing a massive police presence in the area. They said that they saw multiple people come out in handcuffs just within the past two hours. They said Gilbert police had dogs with them a large presence just for the situation that happened here today. And what we know about those three

suspects is that they include an 18 year old and 19 year old and a 17 year old. We're trying to right now get it confirmed with Gilbert police about out of those three who was taken from this home So we're still waiting to But again, another big ar

in Gilbert regarding teen just a couple of weeks af Police Department announce up nine investigations, n youth violent cases and w directly claimed that they the Gilbert goons. In addition, four people arrested were in association with the attack on Tristan back on August 18, 2023. The Gilbert Police Department also announced that they were now determining whether the Gilbert goons could be classified as an official street gang or not.

If they were, it would mean that the charges brought against the people who were associated with this gang would be upgraded to gang-related violence. And they didn't stop there. Gilbert PD continued making more arrests associated with the Gilbert goons well into January. Now at this point, over 10 people were arrested that month, and they were charged with things like aggravated assault, robbery, and many people arrested were also connected to multiple crimes, not just one attack. Now going back to Preston's case for a moment, in January, the county attorney general's office held a press conference, and in that press conference, they stated that they were still

pouring over all of the evidence. She stated that the police report was over 2,000 pages long alone. She also said that they had over 2,000 pieces of evidence and over 600 videos to review. Because remember, these idiots loved to be taken video. And then finally, in February, the medical examiner's office officially ruled Preston's death as a homicide. And following that, the Queen Creek police chief released very important information about Preston's case. Specifically, he said that the fight between Preston and the attackers had only lasted seconds before Preston fell unconscious, which I do have to say is a blessing. It is heartbreaking, but it is a blessing that he was unconscious for most of the fight. I mean, thank goodness. But apparently a video had been circulating which people claimed was the

fight, but the police chief also said that that video was the aftermath of the attack, not the actual attack itself. In fact, he would not say whether they had a video of the actual fight or not. However, he did say that the investigators, quote, pretty much had everything figured out within a week or two, saying even though they kept quiet, they had everything figured out, but they really wanted to build up a strong case. He also said that they didn't discover anything too surprising throughout their investigation and that they were pretty sure they knew why this attack happened and the why behind it was something that nobody expected coming and we're going to get into that but first we are going to take one last break to hear from the final sponsors of today's episode.

So now finally there's movement in Preston's case and all of these other attacks. People are being held accountable. But now the police, they're saying, okay, we think we know why the attack happened. So let's talk about the suspects first, and then we're going to get into all of that. In the beginning of March, the people who were responsible for Preston's death were finally arrested and they were finally named. They were Talon Renner, 17 years old, Dominic Turner, 20 years old, Talon Vigil, 17 years old, and William Owen Hines, 18 years old. Good evening everyone. Today a grand jury has indicted four people in the murder of Preston Lord. And before I discuss the details of these indictments, let me remind you that we are talking about the death of a 16-year-old boy. As I have said in the past, I have spoken with his family and they are in agony. The loss of a child is unimaginable for most of us, but to live it is a whole new level of horror. I do want to say this,

all of those who have continued to post innumerable, unfounded, ill-informed theories on social media, I hope you will pause and consider and evaluate the effect that you may have had on this family over the past several months. Because now you are about to see the crucial steps of the real legal process at work. This has taken months, but not because no one was working on it. Quite the contrary. And I'll say about more about that in the moment, in a moment. The following people who are indicted today. Dominic Turner, William Owen Hines, Talon Renner, Talon Vigil. Each of them is charged in the alternative with first degree murder. In addition to that, Dominic Turner is charged with aggravated robbery. Each of the four is also charged with kidnapping. What has happened here today is a massive step forward in the quest for justice for Preston Lord. As you'll recall, Preston was beaten while attending a party on October 28, 2023.

And he died two days later in a hospital. Since then, too many people have complained that nothing was happening. And the family heard that. To you, I say directly, you could not have been more wrong. From the night of the incident, the Queen Creek Police Department has spent hundreds of hours piecing together an extremely complex case that involved dozens of potential players, either suspects, witnesses, or other individuals

with knowledge. From the time my office received the case in late December, likewise my team has invested hundreds of hours logging and reviewing evidence. You've heard me say before that the police reports numbered in the thousands of pages and that there were more than 600 pieces of video evidence that my prosecutors watched over and over and over. In addition, we asked for an investigative grand jury to review the case. The grand jury has been reviewing this case since February 7th. And then there was another piece of evidence that we absolutely had to have to make this case and that was the medical examiner's report. That detailed final report was received on February the 14th. In addition to today's

indictments, I will remind you of dozens of other charges we've brought against some of the same defendants as well as others in the group. And I'm going to give you some updated numbers. These are numbers that do not include the Preston Lord case, to be clear. We have charged 13 adults and 7 juveniles for a total of 20. The adults have been charged cumulatively with 40 counts, juveniles with 14 counts for a total of 54 charges. And let me emphasize this, let me be very clear, this investigation and review are not over. Additional charges are possible but obviously I'm not in a po those specifically tonigh more people were arrested

old, Jacob Meisner, 17 ye Bailey. Now, trust in Baile last one arrested because after the other six boys Now, although Jacob, Talon, and Talon are technically minors, they were charged as adults. All seven of them were charged with first-degree murder and with felony kidnapping. Jacob, Dominic, and Treston were also charged with aggravated robbery. Now at this point, even though they had said they knew the reason for the attack, the police still didn't release what the motive was, what the motive was

for killing Preston, because most of the attackers didn't even know Preston before October 28th, so certainly there couldn't have been any of like this pre-existing hatred and arguments and fights, I mean, so what the heck was it? However, the police did indicate that at one point, one of the boys apparently stole a necklace from Preston's friend the same night that that party went down. And they say that that is likely what led to the fight that killed Preston. For the first time, we're getting insights into what led up to the deadly confrontation laid out in the county attorney's indictment. These court documents accuse Billy, Jacob Meisner, and Dominic Turner of taking property from one of Lord's friends. Prosecutors say it was a gold chain.

After an initial confrontation, Lord and his friends ran. Police say the seven suspects knowingly restrained him and beat him. In this case, the facts show that multiple co-defendants beat a child to death. Meaning that Preston was at this party with his friend. These loser thugs come up and try to steal a necklace, and Preston, being the good person he was, tried to intervene, tried to either maybe get the necklace back or stand up for his friend, and because of this, they attacked him. Because he actually showed good character. Because he actually was a man, something that these boys will never be.

And interestingly, some of the boys charged already had records. At the time of his arrest, William already had three pending assault charges in association with the Gilbert goons. Dominic had also been involved in a traffic incident, and then the Miners were involved in numerous crimes like shoplifting, fighting, driving under the influence, reckless driving, I mean, so many different things. And Jacob was apparently already in juvenile detention when he was finally arrested. He was being held on multiple assault charges dating back all the way to 2022. In fact, the boys were all associated with crimes that the Gilbert Police Department had recently associated with the Gilbert goons. Their names were repeated numerous times throughout these investigations. Seven boys entered pleas of not guilty and Owen

refused to appear in court that day, so his lawyers entered the plea on his behalf, but they were all held on a $1 million bond. Trust in John Billy. Wearing an orange jumpsuit with handcuffs around his wrists and ankles, 18-year-old Trust in Billy appearing before a judge Thursday morning. He's one of seven suspects charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping for what officials allege they did to Preston Lord the night of October 28th outside of a Queen Creek Halloween party.

Talon Vigil. Jacob Ryan Leisner. Talon Robert Renner. Taylor Sherman. Dominic Turner. The six other suspects entering not guilty pleas Wednesday with suspect William Owen Hines refusing to be transported to court for his hearing. Still though, no information was released to the public

about each boy's involvement in the crime and what their roles were. However, the court documents that were released after their arrest, it mentions that the suspects actually colluded. They were trying to destroy evidence as well as concoct a cover-up story. An admission over text, allegedly from suspect Talon Renner, got in a fight, killed a kid. Guess I don't know my own strength, Renner allegedly wrote to someone on Snapchat. Everything is going terrible.

I can't talk about it on Snap. Another message, allegedly written by suspect Talon Vigil. I hit a kid and this kid fell. Hit his head and then they kicked his head in the ground. Then I got word he died, so I don't know. A message from another suspect, Jacob Meisner. Delete everything. Vids, text, pics, and costumes. Starting the night of Lord's murder, there was also a group chat involving Taylor Sherman. With redactions, it's not always clear who's writing, and some of the spelling is off. These were some of the messages in it.

Talon killed someone with his hands. Referring to suspect Talon Renner. Talon hit him once, and he was like dead. Well, if he's dead, it's jail time for you. Someone else wrote, proud. And later, I actually think that kid is actually dead. There was a blanket over him, I heard. Why did Talon hit him?

They was talking expletive, I guess. The next day, October 29th, just after midnight, Talon hit him? They was talking expletive, I guess. The next day, October 29th, just after midnight, Talon hit him once with a laughing emoji. Later that morning, he's on life support right now. I feel bad for the kid, not gonna lie. Kinda sad. Then the day after that, the day Preston Lord died from his injuries. Bro, that kid died. Someone writing to suspect Taylor Sherman. Yo, tell me you didn't delete the video of the dead kid. It's 10K if you give to the po-po. Teen Jock boasts about victim's closed casket funeral.

17-year-old Talon Renner and six others were arrested for the murder of 16-year-old Preston Lord. Police records claim one boy danced on the dying teen's body after the beating, as well as Renner bragging that he's too strong after hearing of Lord's death. All seven suspects in the case have pleaded not guilty. However, not before Talon's millionaire father allegedly attempted to hide evidence from the night of the beating and shift blame to another boy with a similar name. Which, listen carefully, because it is about to get even crazier when it comes to the parents' involvement and the adults in this situation, and their alleged involvement in the cover-up as well. Because of course all of these arrests were, yes, shocking the community, but the focus of the crime really

turned to one family in particular, Talon Renner's family. Reports revealed that Talon's family talked about sending him out of the country to Mexico after the attack. It was reported that just minutes after the attack on Preston, Talon called his dad and asked him for help. Now, supposedly, a cover-up ensued, which involved Talon's dad, named Travis, and also his business partner, named Adam. Both of them owned multiple fitness gym franchises, and allegedly they were worried that Talon's involvement in this crime might impact their business. It might hurt their bottom line. It might hurt their cash flow. An employee who worked for the two men named Ashley Reynolds also came forward with some very interesting information about the case. She said that after Preston was killed, Travis and Adam just blatantly talked about the fact that Talon was involved in

this crime, and they also talked about how they were trying to cover up his involvement. They claimed that Talon was involved as part of a, quote, initiation into the group. His older son Kyler was already a part of this gang and had also been associated with multiple prior attacks that we went through. And Ashley said that they spoke about this in front of her numerous times. Specifically, they discussed sending Talon to a family vacation cabin immediately after the crime was committed. Apparently, this was all because Talon's hands had been injured in the fight,

and they wanted to give him time to heal his hands before the police then questioned him. Ashley said that they also held meetings where they would discuss their finances, affording Talon's legal fees, how they would save their company in the aftermath. I mean, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting. And what's crazy is that eventually they presented Ashley, their employee, who overheard all of this. They gave her an NDA to sign, a non-disclosure agreement. In the agreement, it said that she wouldn't discuss what they had talked about at all at the office. Now, Ashley signed the NDA, but she later came forward with the information. And I once again just think that this highlights the privilege and the entitlement

in this whole thing because you're worried about your business about your bottom line so you're trying to save your son you're trying to cover it up then you also though to an extent think that because of your wealth and your standing or whatever it is that you're untouchable because if you didn't think that why else would you be so openly discussing this at work? But then something must have spooked him or maybe he finally realized like, uh, I'm an idiot. I shouldn't be talking about this because then he felt like, okay, she overheard all this. I'm just going to have her sign this NDA and we'll be all clear. We'll be clean. It's just crazy to me. So Ashley did the right thing and she spoke up and she shared what she knew with the police, but she has since been fired from the company and the two men have also served her with a cease and desist letter. The Queen

Creek Police Department hasn't provided any additional information, though, concerning Ashley's statements. However, they did say that they interviewed Ashley back in February, and that the details that she provided aligned with their investigation. Ashley's statements really just fueled rumors that the police, the other adults in the community, all of them, that they had all known about the Gilbert goons. They had all known about the group and about their attacks all along. It's even been speculated that Talon's varsity football coach knew about the attacks, but also was involved in covering them up so that Talon, a talented football player, could still play, could still play in the big game. And look, I understand coincidences happen sometimes, but I also am a firm believer that where there's smoke, there's fire. And get

this, the football coach just suddenly left his job in January of 2024, when all of this was coming to light. So people can't shake the idea that these teens' families really used their status to avoid receiving any consequences, any consequences at all. To this day, rumors are rampant that a lot of the adults knew about their children's involvement in the Gilbert goons, but that they refused to do anything about it, all to protect themselves. Even at some of the court appearances, one boy's parents tried to valet their car at court, which, spoiler alert, you privileged asshole, there's no valet at court. Like what on earth are you talking about? However, get this, somebody at the court did it for him anyway.

Somebody actually valeted his car. Yeah, Mark, I was there. I've been covering this and our cameras were rolling last week as an MCSO deputy drove the car of Talon Renner's parents through a back gate where they got in and drove off. Travis and Becky Renner. Do you guys have any comment? Dodging reporters after leaving juvenile court last week through a secure back area. MCSO now saying this was unauthorized. Here's what happened. Travis and Becky Renner were in the courtroom as their 17-year-old son Talon had an initial appearance on murder and kidnapping charges related to Preston Lord's death. After the hearing wrapped, 12 News talked with suspect Talon Renner's attorneys, who

came out the front door of the courthouse. Then, we saw an MCSO deputy get in and drive the Renner family's personal Tesla around the courthouse and through a back gate, which is not a public area. Then the Renners came out a back door. Do you guys have any comment? Got in the car and drove back out through the gate. A statement from Superior Court

presiding judge Joseph Welty said the deputy was not acting at the direction of the court and that, quote, the action was inconsistent with court security protocol and gave the appearance of preferential treatment. We have communicated our concerns directly to Sheriff Skinner and trust that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office will address the issue

appropriately and provide an explanation for the deputy's actions. The court takes seriously its role in providing equal justice under the law and has no tolerance for preferential treatment or the perception of preferential treatment for anyone. As for the explanation, MCSO Sergeant Joaquin Enriquez said over email that MCSO personnel conducted an unauthorized family escort while trying to prevent potential conflict or disruption at the courthouse. He said the two deputies involved got a request from the family's legal representative and didn't talk with supervisors. Both deputies have been reassigned. As for the Renner family's legal rep, we left a message with a staff member at the law firm and are waiting to hear back. I just, it kind of just goes to show how truly entitled these people are that we're dealing

with here. It is bananas to me. News about Preston's death and the Gilbert goons is being released daily as this investigation is still actually ongoing. Community members have asked if any parents are also going to be charged concerning Preston's death, but the county attorney's office has stated they're still looking into all of the evidence. Now, while people are happy that Preston is finally receiving justice, they definitely are not happy that it took a child dying for police to even take claims about the Gilbert goons seriously. And again, while you would have thought that maybe this case would take the country by storm,

it has stayed relatively local, relatively quiet. Residents on the other side of Phoenix claim that they have barely even heard about the Gilbert goons. Other police departments near the area say they also haven't even been informed about the group either. But you know that's not how I roll. If I see something that feels weird and I feel like it needs attention, you know I'm going to do my best to blast it everywhere. So I encourage you to share this episode or this video everywhere you can because people need to know about this case. These adults need to be held accountable. These school administrators need to be held accountable. Everybody who was involved in this who could have stopped it before a 16 year old was murdered needs to be held accountable. So I'm hoping that

we can get some national spotlight on this case so that Preston, his family, and all the other victims of this loser Gilbert Goons group can receive justice, can have their stories heard, and have these monsters locked up, their parents held accountable, and called out for who they truly are. It's going to be really interesting to see what information comes out, specifically regarding the parents of the boys. I mean, did people really know what was going on? Were moves truly taken to cover up the boys' crimes?

And I keep saying boys because that's what they are even though some were technically over 18 they're boys they're little twerp boys period dot the end so I know I'm getting heated guys but I am interested to know what you guys think so sound off in the comment section let me know over on Spotify Q&A leave a review on Apple and let me know in the comment part of the review where you can type what's going on. And please, please, please share Preston's story. It is so important that this story be heard and that these little twerp dweeb losers are held accountable. All right, guys, thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Serialistly with me, Annie Elise. Until the next one, I'm really gonna say

it with some emphasis today. Be nice. Don't kill people. Feels like such an easy sentiment, right? I've got my Stanley Tumblr here, which we have. Be nice. Don't kill people. I've been drinking out of that this whole episode. It's really just such an easy call to action. Be nice. Don't kill people. All right, I'm rambling now, so I gotta go, guys. Stay safe, and I will be back on the mic with you very, very soon. All right. Take care. Bye. you