Small Town Murder - #588 - Four Letter Murder - Falkner, Mississippi

Episode Date: April 18, 2025

This week, in Falkner, Mississippi, a teen love triangle leads to some weird situations, when two friends go out with the same young lady. Everything seems solved when one of the teens disappears, leaving the other to date the girl. But the allure of sex causes a confession to murder, even though it's later recanted. Small town politics play a big role, with rumors flying, and people fleeing town, and a Christian Slater movie being made about the whole thing!!Along the way, we find out that some people in small towns are just plain cheap, that confessing to murder just to get some sex isn't a great plan, and that a certain four letter word can make some people do anything!!New episodes every Thursday!Donate at: patreon.com/crimeinsports or go to paypal.com and use our email: [e-mail] to shutupandgivememurder.com for all things Small Town Murder & Crime In Sports!Follow us on...twitter.com/@murdersmallfacebook.com/smalltownpodinstagram.com/smalltownmurderAlso, check out James & Jimmie's other show, Crime In Sports! On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Wondery, Wondery+, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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eca. That's audible.com slash wonder eca. When a young woman named Desiree vanishes without a trace, the trail leads to Kat Torres, a charismatic influencer with millions of followers. But behind the glamorous posts and inspirational quotes, a sinister truth unravels. Binge all episodes of Don't Cross Cat early and ad-free on Wondery+. Hello everybody and welcome back to Small Town Murder Express! Yay and choo choo! Oh yay indeed Jimmy, yay indeed. My name is James Petragallo, I'm here with my co-host. I'm Jimmy Wissman. Thank you folks so much for joining us today

on another absolutely insane murder stuffed episode of Small Town Murder Express. 10 pounds of murder in a two pound bag everybody and we got a wild one for you today that ended up with Christian Slater's involved in this. So you know. Great. You know it's weird when we've somehow wrangled

Christian Slater into the episode. But it's all there. We'll get to that in one second. Took a break from being a scumbag in Young Guns to be in this one. Oh my god. It's so weird, too. The time, we'll talk all about it.

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Give me murder. Let's do this everybody. OK. Let's go on a trip, shall we? Let's do it. We are going down to Mississippi this week. Yeah. We are heading down there to Faulkner, Mississippi.

OK. There we go. F-A-L-K-N-E-R, Faulkner. This is in northern Mississippi, way on up north up there. It's about an hour and twenty to Memphis. That's the closest place. So yeah, that's up north for sure. It's about five hours to Wiggins, Mississippi, which was our last episode down there, which was biting off more was the name of it. That was the one where the guy was biting off parts

of another person that you don't want to bite off. It was pretty crazy. Population in this town, 514. Teeny tiny. This is a real small, small town. Median household income here is about $55,000 a year, which is well under the national average. Median home price here, this is crazy. This is the median home price, $125,400. That's almost free. That's just, yeah. What's my mortgage? median price, 125,400 bucks.

That's a lot. It's free. Wow, that's just, yeah, you just, what's my mortgage, like 50 bucks a month? Sounds great. It is a shit. Our tab's bigger. Wow, history in this town here. A little bit here, the creation of this village of Faulkner

is related to the railroad coming here. Colonel W.C. Faulkner was the president of Ripley Railroad Company. So that's how they did it. The first and only depot was located for this company where the town of Faulkner is today and was called Faulkner Station and then they just shortened it and they built a community around it. Listen to how cheap this is. They incorporated the community in 1992, but the alderman of the town later abolished the incorporation to avoid paying their share

of the construction of Highway 15. They didn't want to pay their share at the cost. Cheap bastards. And then once they figured all the roads are built and they don't have to pay for anything, they reincorporated again in 1962 cheap cheap You're not alive. No one from this town allowed to drive on that highway. Sorry, just getting citizenship of Canada for April 13th through 16th so weird So reviews of this town fierce. There's only two. Here's five stars I've been living in Faulkner because, or I'm sorry, basically my whole life

since I was very young. Well, that would be your whole life, yeah. That's, you tend to, your life tends to start when you're very young. That's how it works. I even, I even enjoy living here because of my family and friends.

I recommend people to visit it sometime, even though it is a very small town in Mississippi. Yeah. Even though it's a really awful fact. Even though there's nothing to do here at all. And there really is, this is a not a lot to do kind of a place. Four stars here, Faulkner is a very small town.

The community is very close to one another. You'd have to be, there's no one else around. Right, what else are you gonna do? There is one school in the town. I like it there because small towns are basically like a big family community. I would change that there would be more options job-wise. Well, yeah, then you wouldn't all be so close as a community if there was different places to work.

You guys all work at the same three places, so yeah, that's community. Things to do here. I don't know what's happening up here but this is crazy the Boots and Dukes Trail Ride slash field party goes on up here. Boots and Dukes is something important though. Let me show you a picture. Oh no it's it's it's like a black thing too that's like yeah it's Daisy Dukes. yeah, that's what it's for. Boots and daisy dukes and four-wheelers.

And the posters are all like black ladies and boots. Naked ladies, yeah. Yeah, half naked, which is just, this area wouldn't picture like a big, like black people gathering. Family friendly. Well, black people gathering to ride trails is like, I never heard of that, but I'm sure outdoor stuff. Family friendly.

Bring up bring a hot chick whose ass and tips are out and bring the kids. Bring the kids. Well, it says, get ready for a good old country time and countries with a K for some reason. I don't know how that works. Let's ride through the trails, followed by a good old field party with live music and fun. It says, welcome,all to the mid delta mud slangas boots and dukes trail ride slash field party. Get ready for a full day of fun and excitement as we hit the trails. Grab your boots and your best dukes for a trail ride like no other.

That's not trail riding a tire by the way. Also I think they mean the ladies. I would hope so. Me and you will show up. Me and you gotta show up with boots and dukes on and see what happens there. With a nut out. Well, it'll fall out eventually.

There's no way we're keeping both balls in a set of those things. They're coming out somewhere. Sorry about it. I've aged into these. Hopefully not on the trail. And then here's another one. There's another poster for a different year. Wow. For Dukes and Boots. Hosted by who? Featuring Tay Cheesy with a Z. Hosted by Cleve B. What is that? Cleve B and DJ Eric Turner are on the set. Oh wow now I, DJ Eric Turner. We got the, oh wow, now I'm definitely going.

Jesus, Jimmy, you gotta let me some dukes. I'll tell you what. 2020. This really is a black party, I like it. It's yeah, first place trophy, longest distance as a group, all these different trophies. And you know, you get tickets at a barber shop. This is crazy.

This is the weirdest rural event I've ever heard of in my life. It's amazing. So there we go. That said, let's talk about some murder here. Let's dive in. We got a lot to talk about. Let's leave Tay Cheesy out of this for now.

Okay. We gotta go back in some time here. Let's set up our shop in 1981. What do you say? Yeah. So 1981, number one, everything's different. Everything. Oh yeah. Yeah. Everything's different. I mean, most people like cable is new. Put it that way. Never mind internet. Cable is new. Does it exist? Yes, and it's new. Here it doesn't. There's no way it exists here yet. Actually, rural areas got cable first because it was easier to lay the lines.

You didn't have to dig up sidewalks and shit. So yeah, like big cities got it last, actually. Wow. So yeah, that's how, it's weird. That's how MTV spread so big was because the first place. Because the rural areas got it first. First places that got it were like Kansas and places like that were the places that had it the heaviest

because they had cable lines being thrown down in new areas and stuff. So yeah, no internet, no cell phones. This is house phone. Oh, this is wild time. Rabbit ear TV, you know, that kind of shit. So just so you can get an idea and an overview. Let's talk about a young man here named Steven Brown.

Okay, now Steven Brown's 15 years old here. So young guy, he's a sophomore in high school. And let me show you a picture. Old Stephen Brown here. Look at those braces. Yeah, they are. Yeah. Those things look, they look like they're bulletproof. Those are, those are the biggest braces I've ever seen. Those are 81 braces. Yeah, they are man. And he's a good kid, Steve. His dad Dwight is a

Vocational agriculture teacher at Faulkner High School. That's a class there vocational agriculture What does vocational mean that means it's gonna be your job? Oh Yeah, like that's that's for kids who are gonna be this is for kids. Yeah, cuz a lot of the kids in this area They're not going to college, they're farming. They're gonna work on the family farm or that's just what they do. Yeah, it's a rural area, so there's no point in teaching them Shakespeare,

because they're gonna farm. They don't wanna learn. Yeah. You get your on the job experience while you're in fucking home room. Yeah, I assume if you don't wanna be a farmer, there's other classes to take, but if you wanna be a farmer, you can do that.

So his dad's a teacher at the high school for 20 years. Steve sings in the church choir. He's that kind of guy. He's a popular kid in high school, actually. He's a tall guy, just confident, plays sports, does things. He's got a nice girlfriend here too named Tammy Glisson. Tammy Glisson is 16 here, her father by the way is, and this is from a newspaper, quote,

a notoriously short tempered alcoholic. Yeah. So that's a nice, those are good words to put together. Notorious, short tempered and alcoholic are all bad. So in a town like this though, honestly though, anything could make you notorious. Yeah, but. Anything you do. Yeah, but. This is short tempered and alcoholic are all bad. So in a town like this though, honestly though, anything could make you notorious. Yeah, but short temper and alcohol combined with it is,

man, in a town like this, there's probably, in a town like, 60% of these people are alcoholics. In a town like this though, somebody may have seen you have three beers once and one time you like kicked a tree because you were angry at something. Like he's a short tempered alcoholic now. Because there's just nothing else going on. She's a cheerleader here.

She also plays on the basketball team and is like one of the head cheerleaders too of the whole deal. So she's a hot shit for a young high school Mississippi girl here. So they're dating these two. They start dating in 1979. Yep.

Okay. Now Tammy was in the ninth grade, Steve was in the eighth grade, and that's a pull for an eighth grade boy. Oh, yeah. Yeah, ninth grade. He aimed at another campus. Yeah, eighth grade girls know older guys, but generally Ninth grade girls don't want eighth grade boys, so Steve's a Steve's a catch is what that says sure is so

They keep day they date all through 1980 Just long term for back then for you know for school and about Christmas 1980 they decided that they should date other people. Oh, it's over. They break up. Seems like it was probably Tammy's idea when I tell you what happened next. I don't know if they decided mutually or not, but they decided that they weren't gonna be steady anymore

and that they would date other people. So after Christmas of 1980, Tammy began seeing another guy here named Michael Miskeli. He goes by Mike and Miskeli just like Jesse Miskeli, the West Memphis 3 killer. Yeah, or not killer, one of the accused killers. So yeah, the one who confessed falsely there. So Miskeli, by the way, is M-I-S-K-E-L-L and then either E-Y or just Y, depending on which court document you look at, depending on which newspaper article there is,

no one knows how to spell this fucking guy's name. I found him on a fucking hunting people down website and it looks like officially it's no E, it's just an L-Y. So he's born August 1964, same age as the rest of these kids. He he was on the football team as well. He's a short guy, though. Shorter guy, kind of wiry hair, kind of that kind of deal here. But well liked, though, you know, all these people are well liked.

Then Thursday, March 19th, 1981 comes along. So they've been together for almost three months. Mike and Tammy here. And that's when Tammy and Mike break up. It's all over with, man. Then Saturday, March 21st, 1981, two days later, Tammy starts dating Steve Brown again. She just had something for Steve

and couldn't get it out of her head. You know what I mean? So then the next day, Sunday, March 22nd, 1981, Tammy calls Mike up and says, meet me down at the church. I got to talk to you. Yeah. So she tells him that, look, I'm going out with Steve again. So this is over. And she said, I even have a date with Steve the next evening we're going to Corinth and Monday night we got a date we so you know this is all over with which okay good have heard a tell them in person that was nice no text

message to give it to back then yeah very kind so Monday March 23rd 1981 comes around the next day things happen fast when you're in high school. Real quick, goddamn. From Wednesday to Monday, she had one boyfriend, now that he's gone, she's got another boyfriend. Everything can flip in high school in a second, right? So Steve goes to school, so does Mike. Steve goes to his house around 3.30 and gets changed. Now, he stayed after school for baseball practice, Is goes to his house around 330 and gets changed now

He stayed after school for baseball practice So that's why he was there so late and then he goes home 330 gets changed out of his gear there and he is gonna go hunting with Mike him and Mike are gonna go hunting and I Guess talk about how they both like Tammy. I don't know what's going on here So now Steve is in preparation this week, by the way. The next weekend, he has a solo singing appearance at the church congregation. It's his first solo singing.

He's in the choir. It's a good deal. Yeah, he's got a solo here. So he even like won't tell anybody what he's gonna sing, like his family knows he wants it to be a big surprise. He's like, wait till you see what I fucking unfurl for you bastards, it's gonna be wild. It's gonna be wild It's gonna be crazy. It's just gonna be the Bee Gees how deep is my love which is

Really weird for church Put Christ how deep is Christ's love it's gonna be quit disco music playing oh boy gonna be with disco music playing. Oh boy. So Mike called Steve that afternoon when he stopped home to change his clothes, happened to catch him at home and Mike said hey you want to go hunting with me quick there's a place that's got some you know I'm gonna go about about to head out so if you're not doing anything come with me. So Steve said well shit yeah sounds good. He said yeah pick me up about 4 4 15 at the

steps of the high school I'll be back go back there so he might comes to pick him up about four o'clock at the high school and Steve is sitting there with a guy named Dwayne Hopkins and Steve has a 22 caliber Mossberg rifle which his father had given him to go hunting so So they're waiting to go hunting. That was a time when you could just, I'll get my gun and I'll meet you at the school and that was totally fine. That's totally no problem at all.

Wow. Sure. The principal coming, hey Steve, hey principal, how you doing with the fucking rifle on his shoulder? What you got there? What you got there? Oh, it's my 22. Oh, good.

Is it loaded? Yeah, it is, yeah, you wanna see? Here, check it out. So 8 p.m. comes around and Steve's father comes knocking at Mike's house, at Mike Miskely's house and says, I don't know, Steve's missing, where is he? I can't find him, do you know where Steve went? I know he was going out with you with Sadeel here

and the reason why they're on the hunt for him is because Steve didn't show up for the Future Farmers of America meeting. That old FFA, you better be there. And literally the FFA was like, this is such a small town, when someone doesn't show up for the FFA meeting, they break up the meeting and go look for them.

Because something must be wrong. It's not a such party, yeah. Literally. them because something must be wrong. Yeah. Literally. It's crazy. The fire department put out a fucking siren and everybody from town came to the fire department.

They just put a siren out and everybody goes, oh, we gotta go head over to the fire department. Somebody's missing, let's go. And that's to say we're gonna go look for the Steve kid. He's 16 years old at this point. And so it's about 11 o'clock. The whole group goes out looking for him. County officials, fire department, the townspeople,

it's Mike. Mike's dad, everybody's out there looking for Steve. You missed the FFA, James. You showed up for that. You show the fuck up. So police talk to Mike, and they go, well, you saw him. Everybody knows you went hunting with him. So what happened when you guys were hunting?

And he said, Mike said he got home from school and he called Steve and asked if Steve wanted to go hunting and Steve said, yeah. So I picked him up about four o'clock. We went target shooting in the woods near the Little Hope Cemetery in back of the Blackwell Church. And also they went up to a nearby lake and shot some stuff, target practice, and then

they went back up to my car. He goes, and that was it. He goes, I drove him back. I dropped him off in front of the Bank of Faulkner, because that's where he asked me to drop him off. And he goes, I went home. And then his dad showed up, the fire fucking siren went off, and here we are. I don't know.

Church, school, and the bank. places you shirt certainly shouldn't be bringing guns, all guns. He also said he picked up his paycheck at Griffin Brothers grocery store where he worked part time. Then he also said that he didn't want his dad to hear this, but he said he stashed some beer. He remembered that he had stashed some beer near the county line oh that's where I keep my beer too I keep it at the county line what that's the thing they do yeah the old county line there yeah and he

went and got it and drank a can and then hid the remaining cans of beer in an abandoned pickup truck near his house so his parents wouldn't find it. That's so funny. That's hilarious. That's very just normal teenager shit. Doesn't get any more normal than that. Hiding a 65 Chevy out in the woods on, put my beers in it. Hiding a five pack in a fucking burnt out Ford in the woods is definitely a thing.

Because we did that. There was a van in the woods and we used to hide shit in it. Yeah, absolutely. This was the van we used to sit it when it was cold and hotbox it So yeah, he said he went home and the next time he heard anything was his dad coming around So he doesn't know and then he said I you know The town's fire siren blows at nine o'clock and everybody gathered at the schoolhouse and started this search So everybody's there this search basically continues around the clock for two weeks with no sign of Steve.

He just disappeared. Right? FFA missing is what spurred the whole thing. That's it. He missed the FFA. They go, that's not right. Steve shows up for his FFA shit. So full week of looking, let's go.

So right after that He just He's gone and a lot of people think he ran away It's a lot of people are thinking he's a runaway because you know Mike said I dropped him off in front of the bank And I don't know and so they think he might have ran away. That's the thing that happens sometimes so After that Tammy just starts dating Mike again. Well. Yeah, this is fucking I guess the other guys gone There seems to be not a lot of boys in this town to date because just to these are the only two that have any interest Yeah

so months go by That's March April goes by no sign of Steve Then May 18th comes around and Tammy goes to her father. And she says, dad, I got something I have to tell you here. Mike told me that he killed Steve. Yeah, told me that. So the dad calls the sheriff and the highway patrol and all these, what are the authorities

he can get involved? And he's got a badge. Hey, I have a story for you. Whoever's got a jurisdiction over here. So she said that that's May 18th. Now this is what she said. This is her statement. She says this is a written statement.

Quote, Steve and I began dating when I was in the ninth grade and he was on the eighth. On March 23rd, 1981, Steve and I had an agreement in effect by the terms of which we had decided to date other people What the it's I? Have heard legal document you're reading I've read like Disillusions of corporations that are less fucking jargony than this. This is crazy, dude Divorce papers have more clear

Thing by the term effect by the terms of which we had decided to date other people. However, we had a date for that night. I had not dated anyone else. I had not dated Mike Muskely. I went places with Mike Muskely, but I didn't call them dates. Mike Muskely was a real close friend. I really cared for him. He was very nice to me. She's lying, by the way. We'll find out later. Absolutely. On March 23rd of on the 23rd of March 1981. Sorry, she has to make it a very legalese. Steve Brown and I had made plans to go to Corinth that night to get him

a pair of tennis shoes. He had a date the Friday night before his disappearance. And on that Saturday, we got back together On Sunday, March 22, 1981, I saw Mike Miskely at church, Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. I told Mike that I was going to go with Steve the next night. Mike got up and left the church. Okay, what's he gonna do? Talk about it. The following morning, March 23, 1981, I went to school and I recall seeing Steve Brown at school that day. The first night when Steve disappeared, I questioned Mike Muschelli regarding Steve's disappearance.

I asked whether or not he knew where Steve was. Seems reasonable. Yeah. You know where he is if he ran away, where'd he go? Mike responded that he didn't and that if he did know where Steve was, he'd go find him. I mean, if I knew, I'd be walking back here with him,

going, found him. So he said about the, she said about the first of May, Mike Buschelli began to tell me that he had something to tell me. Began to tell me I got something, that he had something to tell me. That he would tell me on his deathbed, okay? One night on the telephone,

he mentioned that he had something to tell me and I told him that if he didn't tell me I would hate him and he said, okay, I'll tell you. This is the most high school shit ever. If you don't tell me I hate you. All right, fine. Then he told me it was about Steve. That's all he said. The next morning in the auditorium at school, he said that he did this for me and that he thought Steve was coming between me

and him and that he'd done it for a four letter word called love. I'd done it for a four letter word called love, called love. Oh my God. I don't think that's what Queen had in mind when they were singing that song This is a crazy little thing called lover right yeah He said he'd gotten mad the Sunday before Steve disappeared He said that he dug a hole and said the next morning he talked Steve into going hunting with him That is prettymeditated. That is unbelievable.

Dude, to dig somebody's grave a day ahead of time before they're even dead is crazy. He got me mad, I dug a hole, said, wanna go hunting? That is, I mean. Diabolical. Good Lord. Holy shit. And he said the next morning,

he talked Steve into going hunting with him. He said he picked Steve up at school and headed down Highway 370. He said Steve didn't talk much, but that they talked about bulldogs and the band that was at school that day. Just bulldogs, actual dogs, not like the Georgia Bulldogs or something.

That's what I thought too, but no, it's just dogs. He said that when they got to the woods, he didn't have his gun, but Steve had his. He said they set up a bottle and shot at it with Steve's rifle. He said that they quote went on went on up into the woods. He said that he saw the hole that he had dug and he knew what he had come to do. He said he turned his head and pulled the trigger and then turned around. Then he turned around.

He said Steve took a step and then another one and then went down to his knees and just looked at him. He said Steve mumbled something then fell. I started crying, Mike asked me not to cry, then I settled down. She is pliable as shit. No shit. Your boyfriend, I killed your boyfriend in a horrible premeditated murder.

Stop crying, okay. Fine. Fine. I just wanted to know more I wanted to know where and I asked him how it looked and he said it didn't look bad meaning the wound I guess was his whole face blown off or whatever he said he loves Steve but that he loved me more yeah that's a crazy little four-letter word boy I love a boy and talking under under bite dogs with him but I like you better.

I like you better buddy. He said it only took one. He said it hit Steve behind the left ear. I asked him did he have blood in his blonde hair, meaning Steve's blonde hair. He said he buried Steve together with Steve's rifle. I asked him how he covered it up to keep it from being seen and Mike said he used quote the shovel to cover it up That's all he told me that day. He never told me where said he did it for a four-letter word love Called love later on I asked him where because I wanted Steve to be found I loved Steve and wanted him to be found Mike said he couldn't tell me where okay So she's got a story that he's admitted to this,

but we don't know where it is. So obviously the cops need to bring Mike in and have a little chitchat with him here. So he's 16 and they bring him in and Mike, they bring him in with his dad and you know, family, because he's a kid. In the early hours of December 4th, 2024, CEO Brian Thompson stepped out onto the streets

of Midtown Manhattan. This assailant starts firing at him. And the suspect, He has been identified as Luigi Nicolass Mangione, became one of the most divisive figures in modern criminal history. I was meant to sow terror. He's awoking the people to a true issue. Listen to Law and Crime's Luigi exclusively on Wondery Plus.

You can join Wondery Plus. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Spotify or Apple podcasts. In the early hours of December 4th, 2024, CEO Brian Thompson stepped out onto the streets of Midtown Manhattan. This assailant pulls out a weapon and starts firing at him. We're talking about the CEO of the biggest private health insurance corporation in the world. And the suspect...

He has been identified as Luigi Nicholas Mangione. ...became one of the most divisive figures in modern criminal history. I was targeted, premeditated, and meant to sow terror. I'm Jesse Weber, host of Luigi, produced by Law and Crime and Twist. This is more than a true crime investigation we explore a uniquely American moment that could change the country forever. He's awoken the people to a true issue. I mean maybe this would be rich and powerful people to

acknowledge the barbaric nature of our health care system. Listen to law and crimes Luigi exclusively, exclusively on Wondery Plus. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Spotify, or Apple podcasts. So he said, yeah, me and Steve drove to a wooded area located off Little Hope Road behind the Little Hope Cemetery. He said that he had a 20 gauge shotgun

and that Steve was carrying his own 22. He said they shot at some jars. He also said he used Steve's gun to shoot at one of the jars because more fun for target practice than buckshot spray. Yeah, you don't stand back from target with a shotgun. That's boring. I got like four of the bottles. It's going to hit a bunch of them probably.

I got four of them. So he then said they returned to Faulkner and said that they were headed to another place to go hunting when Steve changed his mind and said, I just dropped me off in front of the bank of Faulkner. I want to go home now. So I said, that's what he did. And a cop later recounted that he's that's what he said. He said they shot guns and he said that first he said at first Mike denied driving that day

into Benton County where they went but after they found witnesses who said they saw him driving back from there he said oh yeah we did go there yeah but he said I didn't want to tell you why I went there because I went there to get the beer I had stashed I'm not gonna do it Steve I had beer and I didn't want I didn't want to sit here next to my dad saying oh yeah then I went there to get the beer I had stashed. I had nothing to do with Steve. I had beer and I didn't want to sit here next to my dad saying, oh yeah, then I went and grabbed my six pack. So that didn't work. I'll promise. Yeah.

So then they're like, well, why is Tammy saying that you said you killed Steve? Why would she say that? She's your girlfriend, right? What the fuck? And he said, well, actually, she said that because that's what I told her. But I only told her that because she wouldn't shut the fuck and he said well actually she said that cuz that's what I told her But I only told her that because she wouldn't shut the fuck up

Yeah, he said that she continually questioned me regarding the disappearance and she kept saying she loves Steve and wanted him found So I gave her a false confession Yeah, so Tammy asked him over and over again where Steve was he said this went on for a month and a half She kept asking me. Where is he? Where is he? And I kept saying, I don't know. I don't know I don't know, but she kept she kept asking. So finally she said you killed him, didn't you? And according to him He said Tammy asked him every day at school and called him at home about the whereabouts of Steve and said quote If you don't tell me where Steve is, I ain't going to love you no more.

I'm going to hate you. That's literally the quote by the way. I didn't, I didn't, I didn't Mississippi that up at all. That's a quote from a newspaper. She good cop, bad cop to him without being a good, bad cop, the shit out of it. She's not even a cop. She just bad at him. She's a pretty good interrogator though.

She's not even a cop, she's just bad at him. She's a pretty good interrogator though. She's not bad. So finally he said, I just told her, yes, Tammy, sure. I did it, I killed him. And Tammy said that, Tammy then said to him that, you know, what the fuck basically, and he said, I don't know, that's what happened. So he's telling the cops that I only said that to shut her up. He said, during this period, the that's what happened So he's telling the cops that I only said that to shut her up

He said during this period the reason why why do you why do you say it? I mean anybody you could just say I don't hang out with you anymore. Leave me alone. He said well She was providing sexual favors for me at the time during this whole time period and basically she told me she Wasn't gonna fuck me no more if I didn't tell her what happened. So I told her and then she sucked my dick. That's how it worked. That's what he said.

He literally was, yeah, once I told her then she resumed fucking me again so it worked. That's what I was, I was just trying to get laid. That's what he tells the cops. All right. So the cops go, okay, these are two likely stories. They're either one could be true. So let's sit down, take a polygraph test. What do you say?

They said, here's the guy, they called him the best examiner in the state of Mississippi. He's a highway patrol examiner in Jackson, which is the capital of Mississippi. So he might be the best they have to offer. Now, he said, okay, him, his father, his mother, all came in, they went all the way to Jackson, where he underwent a polygraph

Examination now Mike claims that they told him if he took the test and passed and they'd leave him alone And he'd be cleared and they could move on to the next thing He says they told him that he passed The polygraph examiner later on tells everybody though that it was inconclusive the polygraph examination So so you're saying I didn't fail so you're saying I so they just go. I don't know I don't know everybody shrugs Mike goes home, and it gets and it just goes away goes nowhere Yeah, and it goes nowhere for a long time Steve is nowhere to be found No one can find Steve a man went a boy went hunting with another boy where they both had guns one boy didn't come back. Yes. I don't know. I don't know. I dropped him off by the bank don't know what to tell you. Well we'll look at the bank. Well you you look

guilty and then you told a girl for me that was just for pussy though you know that don't count. Man will say anything for a blowjob shit. Two left with guns one came back hmm head scratcher. Yeah, Jack and Jill went up the hill. What are we talking about here like? Yeah, so why she why she come back with 250. This is Craig's I was you know that was on the tip of my fucking tongue. I was like I'm stopping myself from Hey, chill came down with 250 so then And hey, chill came down with 250. So then the Brown family, Steve's family, begins getting odd phone calls. The dad said that quote, someone called and said we'd hear from Steve on a certain day and hung up and they didn't hear from Steve.

Another person called, a different person, and said that someone was paid to keep Steve. That's what he said. And so he was, he just got these weird phone calls with like tips. Like I heard this. So, and the dad said he recently dreamed that his son stood before him and was talking to him. And also his, his mother Mary Ruth said that she felt like her son was close. She said, he's close by, I can feel it. I can feel it.

And a relative called and said that she'd had a vision that he was in a hospital in Missouri. No, no, a vision. A vision's when you're awake. A dream is when you're asleep. That's what it is. A vision's a hallucination. A dream is a dream.

That's the difference there. Yeah. Did you make the booze you drank, ma'am? A vision denotes you've been drinking rubbing alcohol or possibly have a mental illness. A fucking... A dream is just a dream. Butt chugging Listerine, ma'am. Stop it.

No, shit. So mom said, sometimes I get depressed real bad, but sometimes I think wait a day or two and he'll return. Well months go by. Months August 1981 the Mississippi Press newspaper Faulkner residents wonder what happened to Steve Brown. Straight through the summer. Yep and Dwight the dad said we don't know which way to go now I still hope that we can

find him and that he's okay. And his wife said she's holding up better now and their other child is making is making it fine. It's six months. I don't know how you're anybody's making it fine. What the Highway Patrol investigator who's leading this whole thing Kenny Dickerson said that he's at a loss. He doesn't know he said when you don't have anything to anything to start with it doesn't give you much to go on We don't have any new leads whatsoever. We're still very much interested in it. We'll carry out any new leads There's a good possibility the boy is still alive. Yeah, what possibility with it? He ran away and what to Mexico?

He's in the future farmers of fucking America He's got you know, he's gonna have to come back for those little fucking rubber bands just for his braces This is not a kid who's just gonna run off and live his life forever The orthodontist hasn't seen him. Those things are rusty by now. That's what I mean. It's fucking crazy now the Reverend Floyd Beasley who's the pastor of the Faulkner Baptist Church somehow has a more realistic view of this than the police do which I Boggling. Well, we've got a police officer named Kenny on the fucking case. Kenny Dickerson. Yeah he said I don't really think he ran away he's just not that kind of person. This has caused us to stop and think and wonder what's really going on. Things like this just don't happen in Faulkner. Well apparently they do motherfucker

because here you are. So yeah they said that they had heard that someone called, authorities from Florida called saying they had a youth with an appearance that matched Steve's, and they needed the parents to come see if it was their kid or not. And so a bunch of the guys from Faulkner, Dwight and a bunch of, a carload of men from Faulkner, drove to Florida and it just looked like him.

Random kid. And he was driving a car with Mississippi tags too. And they said it, just a kid who looked like Steve. That's all it was. Just kid with braces and a southern accent. So September 23rd, 1981, big article. Nation joins Hunt in two of states disappearances. And it's a big article about, you know, Nation joins Hunt in two of state's disappearances.

And it's a big article about, you know, just there's him and this woman that disappeared too from the area and no one can find either one of them. And it's written by Loretta Pendergrast who keeps with this story for years. She's got the byline on like everything. March 1982 headline, Steve Brown, 17, missing still. God damn. Over a year now, we're talking about.

April 1982, there's an article that says, Stephen Brown trail heats up, authorities will drain Private Lake next week. Oh my. Yeah, they said now foul play is high on the list of possible reasons for the youth's disappearance. A chief investigator said, we came up with some information that leads us to believe that the brown boy was in the area at that time.

That doesn't sound good. If you didn't know his last name was Brown. We're not only looking for a body, but we're also looking for a gun. It's one of several possibilities. And they said the lake is, they went in the vicinity of the lake. Maybe he came back here It's about 18 miles from where they do that did their initial search for Brown They said that it'll take two or three days to drain the 70 acre lake within three feet of the bottom

Yeah, how long it's three days to drain that god dang. It's a lot of water They said that the average depth of the lake is about seven feet. It's eight feet deep at its deepest point. The agencies plan to open the lower gate on the lake's dam and allow the water to flow into Walnut Creek, which is another town that we've done before. They said that they've never done this before and they said it might be tricky. Well no shit. Then the head investigator said there's so many tales going on around there. The rumors have really hindered us but we've

got to eliminate possibilities by whatever means they can. There's several articles where they're annoyed that these small town fucking rumors are wasting their time essentially, yeah, and then driving them down wrong paths. Then on December 22nd, 1982, we are talking almost two years here, 20 months, 21 months. Danny Ross is a guy hunting with his father and his brother behind Blackwell Church in Benton County, Mississippi.

They found a 22 caliber Mossberg rifle in a hollowed out tree in the middle of a small Small drain they said Now guy picks up the rifle and goes look at this guys. I found a fucking rifle shows his father and his brother Don't touch that you're not crazy. I didn't know this found a rifle in the woods Look at this somebody left their fucking gun out here. So like oh, that's weird They go they don't know of this. Not everyone's following this. They're not from this town. So this is in another county. Yeah, but it's

just a gun out there. I don't want to touch any gun that's just free range. That's because we do a murder show. Normal people just pick things up. That's a great point. But if a hillbilly finds a gun in the woods in 1981 they're not going to go oh nobody touch it back off they're gonna go free gun and pick it up that's what they do. Oh boys look. Yeah it's a free gun there's no anybody in the wood do that so they pick it up and they they walk back to the location where the gun was near to see if there's anything else over there. Shit people drop dropped their gun, maybe they dropped some cash. Maybe there's a wallet, shit. Yeah.

Shit, it's a pair of Ray-Bans, I don't know. What they find something much weirder, they return to the location and approximately two feet from where they found the gun, they find a skull. Yeah, that's not good. Just a skull, human skull sitting there. They called the cops, obviously. They had to think about this. Is it worth the gun?

Do we take it or do we, oh, we gotta call somebody. So they searched the area and they also find a human lower jaw bone with braces on it. Oh, what? Yes. Oh what? Yes So and the skull found lying on its side had a hole behind the left ear And another hole in the forehead going out and exit It went through Yep So they said the remains were approximately 30 paces from a hole that had been dug in the ground like an animal must have taken

Yeah dug it up Some of this yeah, and the 22 caliber Mossberg rifle was the rifle that Steve's father bought for him. Oh, boy. So the body is identified from the orthodontist. Luckily, this guy has tons of dental records, Steve, to identify him with. So boy, they've been taking pictures of his face

for a long time. Yep. The orthodontist identifies the braces as his work. His own work. Yep. And it's Steve's. So cops got to talk to Mike again, obviously have a little chit chat Little chit chat with him. The problem is it's here's an article about how crazy this thing goes. Okay

unspoken accusations hover over a town staging its own soap opera This is from a Jackson newspaper after Steve Brown disappeared It was open season a teacher left his job in the town under duress while students eyed one another suspiciously It just turned everybody against each other. They all got crazy here There are repeated allusions to another man's temper meaning Tammy's father because they're saying Oh a lot of people in town were accusing Tammy's father of killing him for kissing his daughter Yeah for kissing on his young his little girl there. So they said arson is suspected in a recent store fire. There are no direct connections only implied ones. Anything that happens now everyone goes it's all

connected. Yep the same small town intimacy that worked as a binding force in Walnut is threatening to choke the residents of Faulkner. If skeletons falling from closets could augment a census count, the population would have tripled. This is the dark flip side of small town life. Party line politics and intense familiarity have bred contempt. Steve's father, Dwight Brown, taught the Muskelly boy. He was a teacher of Mike's. Mike's father, Wayne Muskelly, was on the town committee that raised the reward for

information that led to finding Steve. So everyone's finger fucking and got something in the pie here. So they said there was sometimes, there was that sometimes comforting, sometimes smothering, snugness, that small towns are famous for so they talked to Mike again and they go look bud yeah your girl said you said you shot him behind the left ear yeah he's got a gunshot wound behind his left ear we found a head with a shot yeah that's the place you took him hunting you're under arrest big guy. So

They take him to trial for murder That's it during this week-long trial by the way. It is the courthouse is choked with people There's people that bring folding chairs and sit outside the courtroom and with their ears out trying to listen to shit the courts full It's crazy Yeah, hundreds of people every day like as many people as live in this town show up to this trial every day Insane it's like fucking OJ Southern OJ. So they call Tammy first. She's the she's the main witness I mean, yeah, that's it. It's her story Yeah So she said Mike said he he saw the hole that he dug earlier and knew what he had come to do pulled the trigger

And like just all the stuff he said before he Basically her exact statement but in court here And he she also said he told me he did it for me He said that Steve was coming between him and me and he did it for a four-letter word love call love By the way, she's married now. How long's it been?

She's now Tammy Nance. She just turned 18, but she's been married for over a year. Wow. She was looking to settle down at some point with somebody. Oh, shit, yeah. So yeah, she said that's what happened. He went and dug a hole, and he said he didn't have his gun, but Steve had his all the same things.

It didn't look that bad and everything else. He said that when they, he said he then handed Steve's Steve handed the gun to Mike and Mike said that Steve told him, I don't believe we're going to find any beavers here. Red. That's what he called him. Red. Mike Steve called Mike red. And he said at that point, that's what he called him red. Yeah. Steve called Mike red and he said at that point that's when he ended up shooting him.

He turned around and shot him. So that's crazy. Now here's a big deal that comes out. Obviously the defense counsel wants to really cross examine the shit out of her and break her story down because that's what you do with witnesses. So they said, the defense counsel says, your honor, there's a lot of questions

I want to ask this witness pertaining to matters that took place after this disappearance. The very confession she says Mike gave her was, I guess, spread over a long period of time, culminating in something dated May the 18th. And if the court, I want to make some ground rules now if you're going to restrict me on my cross-examination on things that took place after. I think it's important in the defense.

So they say, what kind of shit are you going to ask? And he says, well, going out with Mike Muschelli, sexual intercourse with him, various places they went, secret meetings, notes written, all of which she has denied in statements to us and all of which we've got other independent witnesses to impeach her with. So just to show she's a liar. Yeah. Because she said I was done with him at that point. And we know from that point on she wrote him love letters, they were having sex, she wrote

notes alluding to it. I mean there was she's lying completely. She absolutely was like, like oh you killed him That's horrible. Well, I guess uh, you know, you can still I'll still blow you so that's yeah So, I mean it's not for it doesn't I mean obviously I mean maybe they want to embarrass her but it's also Because it's impeaching it's shit. She lied about in court So they the district attorney said you're talking about things that are totally irrelevant and immaterial.

They're so far removed in time that they could have no probative value. The defense counsel said, I don't believe so. I think they're very probative. The state's trying to paint a case of a fight over a girl and we're trying to show that she had other interests as well, your honor, and there wasn't any fight over this girl.

So the court said, the judge says, well, I don't see where the sexual life of someone may or may not have occurred after this occurrence is related to, has any probative value whatsoever. It's nothing but an attack and an assassination of her character is all it is. I don't see where it's the basis of setting up anything as to credibility.

I mean, it seems like it, yeah. You can't just lie about shit. Even if it's embarrassing, you have to say it. It's it's under oath, right? I mean, it's absolutely Yeah, unless they changed it down there She said I think a person's life in that area is a very personal thing and I'm going to rule that it's so Prejudicial that it cannot contribute That it cannot contribute nothing to the case and I think it's a collateral thing that has no probative value contribute nothing to the case and I think it's a collateral thing that has no probative value.

So then they go into chambers and they talk about it and the defense council says it's important because of the fact that here's a girl that just testified she loves Steve Brown. She was good friends with Mike Muscheli. She loved Steve Brown so much, we're going to prove, your honor, that she had sexual intercourse with him long after Steve Brown disappeared with Mike Muscheli. You know those creepy stories that give you goosebumps, the ones that make you really question what's real? Well, what if I told you that some of the strangest, darkest and most mysterious stories are not found in haunted houses or abandoned forests, but instead in hospital rooms and doctor's offices?

Hi, I'm Mr. Ballin, the host of Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries. And each week on my podcast, you can expect to hear stories about bizarre illnesses no one can explain, miraculous recoveries that shouldn't have happened, and cases so baffling they stumped even the best doctors. So if you crave totally true and thoroughly twisted horror stories and mysteries, Mr. Bollin's Medical Mysteries should be your new go-to weekly show.

Listen to Mr. Bollin's Medical Mysteries be your new go-to weekly show. Listen to Mr. Bollens Medical Mysteries on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Spotify or Apple podcasts. In the early hours of December 4th, 2024, CEO Brian Thompson stepped out onto the streets of Midtown Manhattan. This assailant starts firing at him. And the suspect... He has been identified as Luigi Nicolass Mangione.

...became one of the most divisive figures in modern criminal history. I was meant to sow terror. He's awoking the people to a true issue. Listen to Law and Crime's Luigi, exclusively on Wondery Plus. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Spotify, or Apple podcasts. In the early hours of December 4th, 2024, CEO Brian Thompson stepped out onto the streets

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acknowledge the barbaric nature of our health care system. Listen to law and crimes Luigi exclusively, exclusively on Wondery Plus. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Spotify, or Apple podcasts. So, you know, she's saying she hated him after that. She wasn't. So they said it keeps going back and forth, and the defense counsel says,

the purpose of this line of questioning of this witness is now that we're here in chambers, they went into judges' chambers, is to show the bias and prejudice on the part of this young girl in cooperating with law enforcement who we're going to show, Your Honor, served upon her father a deposition subpoena that was requested to be served. In fact, issued by the clerk of the court on the same day the deposition was issued for us for this young girl. He got served, she left town we think in a hurry,

and the proof will show that she's given an inconsistent statement about who took her out of town. We know it does show that that's the purpose of the inquiry is to show bias. So they ask her, they get Mike and they said, were you intimate with her, she with you? And Mike said, yes sir, seemed to be. They said, what do you mean by that?

And he said, well we had sex. And the DA object, this is what Mike is, yes, sir, seemed to be. They said, what do you mean by that? And he said, well, we had sex. And the DA objected. This is what Mike is testifying. And the DA objects to that. And he talked, basically, from the minute the words, I killed him came out of his mouth, anything that Tammy did or lied about's irrelevant, they said. They don't care.

They don't give a shit. And they object to that. They object to him saying they had sex after the fact even though it's kind of important yeah so they said if the court allows the defense lawyer said that you know if the court allows this in front of the jury that this young girl had sex with a defendant before this disappearance after the disappearance and she continually badgered him harassing her harassed him calls caused herself to be a nuisance to him picking on him trying to trying to get him to say something or admit to things to her when she would suggest

answers then it turned into a more coercive type affair where she would tell him she wasn't going to love him and this sort of thing if he didn't talk to her and she would use this sex bribe in a sense against Mike Miskelly repeatedly and then she'd go out with him and then they'd have sex again and then they'd start to work. She'd start to work on him again and she'd get a little bit here or there. She's a great investigator apparently but she said they put this girl on the witness stand who appears to be like the Virgin Mary who says she loves Steve and she's just friends with Mike, which is a lie. She's saying that I asked her point blank several times.

Did she have sex with Mike Muschielli before or after? She said, well, I was telling him I loved him, but I was just fooling him and all this kind of testimony. So anyway, they basically decide that they said, I'm going to sustain this sustain the objection on a basis of the sex thing. Now any relationship other than that you can go ahead with but if you're going to stay out of the sex business everything I can find in the law and the evidence in this case is purely a collateral issue. If

it was a rape case it'd be a different thing but it's not. So they're not allowed to question Tammy about shit Tammy goes up says this is what he told me. That's it. And then Mike's not even allowed to say, she blew me right afterwards. So that's whatever. So now, regardless, her information was right. That's where they went.

Yeah, that's right. Yeah, but they're going to say, she knows what happened, so therefore he didn't do it. Yes, that's true. So they also didn't do it. Yes, that that's true So they also they try to say that maybe somebody dumped his body there and the investigator said I mean they could have dumped his Body there it's possible You know, we don't have any evidence around in the outside for a year and a half So that goes into it now the defense has a witness here named Tim Hopper who testifies that he saw

Steve Brown at school the night of March 23rd around 7 p.m. at the Future Farmers of America meeting. Well then why would the meeting have broken up and turned into a search party then? That doesn't make sense. So another student testified in rebuttal that Tim Hopper had told him he really didn't know if he saw Steve Brown that night. He thought he did. So Mike's testimony is Tammy badgered me. I wanted a fucking banger.

That's that. So the verdict comes in. Deliberation lasts one hour. And he is found guilty of murder. Yeah, because there was, yeah, okay. Yeah, so sentencing comes around here and the judge says you young man May fuck off life in prison. Oh my god of which you have to serve at least seven years before you're eligible for parole Okay, so seven to life essentially is what it is a fascinating choice anywhere from seven to life Yeah based on you I suppose

so Outside the court after this Mike's dad is hugely pissed He said quote. Yeah, he said so help me God Mike had nothing to do with the disappearance of Steve Brown and it's my obligation to see that justice is done. He said that all the bones were found and said the gun was found sticking up from a small stream, its barrel thrust into the sand. Dad said it was a calling card. He said the wooden stock of the gun was rotten as though it had been lying in the ground.

He said that was somebody's calling card. That somebody looked for other cases that match up with that. Oh, it's a serial killer Yeah, he's out of his mind Mike's friends 35 relatives and townspeople drove 200 miles to Jackson to present a petition with 1300 names on it asking the governor to intervene. Yeah They said if nothing else the truth has been presented like all other days dating back to day one I've told the truth. That's what Wayne miskelly Mike's dad says

Also, the kid who said he saw him at the meeting was there as well And yeah, he said that um, I know what I saw He said I was young but I know what I saw when you when I see you sitting there. I see you I know what I saw when you when I see you sitting there I see you I know what I see So there you go And there's another they have another person with a portfolio of affidavits and reports and newspaper clippings that say they will quote Show the threat of the conspiracy through this thing So we did the internet just makes it easier, but this is people are always our brains are wired for this shit So they're all crazy But this is people are always our brains are wired for this shit

November 1985 yeah, he appeals this thing Okay, he appeals saying he only confessed to the girl after she threatened to withhold sexual favors That's what the the now they say the trial judge refused to allow the attorneys to adequately cross examine her. They called it, the prosecution called it nothing but an assassination of her character. So he appeals on a bunch of different grounds here. One is failure to prove the cause of death, which I think a gunshot wound in the back of the fucking head is pretty clear.

All the way through, I mean, pretty obvious, yeah. Yeah, they said, he also says exculpatory Exculpatory evidence or grant of immunity was improperly excluded He says I passed the lie detector and they told me if I passed it I wouldn't have to do this That's a deal and they say well, that's not a deal because it wasn't in writing and number two the guy says it was inconclusive so no Then they say they they limited cross-examination by defense counsel. The judges here say we are of the opinion that the lower court unduly restricted cross-examination

and impeachment on the above matters and that they were crucial on the issue of the confession or statement allegedly made by the appellant to Tammy and they require that this be reversed and remanded for a new trial four to two vote of the Supreme Court there of whatever they get that's what they do. So reversed he'll be set free by the way Oh, is that right on bond? Yeah so they They said the life or just go on home. That's one or the other. He said he's eager to quote, get used to being free. Yeah.

He said, you can't explain how it feels. Mike goes on. He says it was the best feeling of my life. Yesterday was the best day of my life. He says, fucking a few months, no year, a year and change here and change. He says he expects to be freed within two weeks and He says he expected this to happen because he said quote I knew that I knew it was flawed and I'm not even a lawyer Really? That's shocking so he

Maintains his innocence that said he plans to spend time at his parents house before entering Northwest Community or Northwest Mississippi Junior College in Centobia. He said he later plans to study law at the University of Mississippi. Oh, he's about to be a lawyer, huh? He says, I want a little time to myself to relax to get used to being free though. He said he worked in a garden in jail and read law books when he wasn't in his television equipped private cell. He did fine. He said, I imagine I'll always be criticized by a few people and ridiculed. I'm just going to try to outlive it as best I can. So he's released on a $75,000 bond. And the state goes, I don't know what the hell this guy's getting so comfortable for. We're

absolutely retrying him for murder. So there's a couple of delays and people that feel bad for him. He's working for, he's been working for the Benton County supervisor, Billy Taylor at a grocery store as a clerk. In the meantime while he's waiting for his retry. The county supervisor owns the grocery store. Yeah, it's, I mean come on. He says this, quote, he's a nice boy. I feel very sorry for Mrs. Brown,

but I don't think he did it. You have to convince me. We had a trial, it was pretty convincing. They're gonna do it again. So June 87, retrial. This is moved, by the way. This is held in Benton County, outside of the main area here.

So still shitloads of people here. Opening statements, they told him the same thing as the first trial. They started seeing each other again, him and Nancy. And on May 18th, there was a breakthrough when Mike told Nancy, her last name is Nance now, that's why I called her Nancy, Tammy, told Tammy Nance that he had shot him.

He said, then the defense said, there's no proof of any altercation between Steve Brown and Mike Muschielli. He said that Brown had said there's no proof of any altercation between Steve Brown and Mike Maskelli he said that Brown had a date with another girl just prior to his disappearance and also attacked the credibility of Nancy or Nancy again Tammy Nance calling the determining calling the task of determining whether to believe her or Mike the jurors biggest jobs So there's also Testimony here the victim Steve's dad talks about a creepy music teacher. Oh yeah. He testifies that this is his son's music teacher once warned him meaning Steve's father that he would not return home. He said he's not coming back.

coming back. And yeah, he said it was, so they looked into the music teacher big time and then cleared him. But when they were looking into him, this is a guy named Pete Dolez, he said apparently that the private investigators and police searched this Pete Dolez's home and he said, they asked the father, did he tell you that he would never see, you would never see your son again? And he said, yes.

They also heard that his son and other Faulkner high school students used to visit this teacher's home to drink beer and watch dirty movies. He's fucking grooming them. I don't like that at all. He's fucking grooming them is what he's doing. That's a, that's grooming giving teenagers beer and give porn is grooming. Yeah, that's what Gacy did. That's grooming. Giving teenagers beer and porn is grooming. Yeah, that's what Gacy did. Yes, exactly.

Exactly. Which would be awesome. It would be cool if another 17-year-old had beer and porn. Not a 45-year-old man. Some 45-year-old man. The last thing I want to do is drink beer and watch porn with teenagers. That's the worst thing I've ever heard in my life. Sounds terrible.

I didn't even want to drink beer with them. Man, this testimony was not allowed in the first trial, by the way. No, because he's talking through his own trial. Yeah, no shit, he's got his own problems. He left town, he ran away, that guy. Good, yeah. From this.

So, after about, I think it's two hours, they have a lunch break, and they come back from lunch break saying, no more trial, calling it off, it's a a plea deal it's all over. Is that right? Yeah we're getting a plea going absolutely. His lawyer did not like the case they have against him. I think the prosecution didn't like it because they're bringing up creepy music teachers

who are grooming kids and now they can really grill Tami Nance on cross examination too they can fucking they can ask her anything they want now. So he is going to plead guilty to manslaughter. Really? Way less than premeditated murder, which this obviously was. So, um, his lawyer said that he did it because Mike, Mike was calling, uh, he was calling the whole situation and oppressed hell. So he was wanted to get it over with. So the judge announced the guilty plea to manslaughter in the heat of passion. What was the absolutely a planned it.

This is diabolical. This is fucking horrible. That is crazy man. Wow. The defense lawyer said he told us he had lived under this for six years. He said it was something of an oppressed hell. There was never a day where he could get away from it. So he wanted it over with. Some people are mad about this. They're not mad because. No I'd be mad at the plea. No no that's not what they're mad

at. There's a lady in the newspaper here who's very mad that she didn't get to hear all the sex Talk, that's what she came for. She said she wanted to hear about 16 year olds fingering each other and didn't get the air I brought a rabbit to the courthouse for the dude for the I got my rose in my purse They said I brought it through security. It's fine He's this is a lady named mrs. Magaha who said Sheesh This is my m Mrs. Magaha who said, sheesh. It sounds like a slang term for a pussy. It does, this is my Ms. Magaha right here.

Well fuck you and the Magaha. I'll give you the old Magaha. So she said she's second guessing her decision to drive more than 60 miles on her only day off as a waitress to see this. Wow, this is, her fucking 50 shits are great. This is a real life novel, I was Wow. This is like a 50 shits. It was a real life novel. I was just going to say it's a real life romance novel.

She was like, I'm going to see kids talking about fucking each other, then go home and dill myself in the tub. That sounds right. Some real hot Romeo and Juliet shit. She said, I had really hoped I would come down boy and the boy didn't do it and justice would prevail It just was an exciting courtroom drama She that many said that they expected spicy testimony. Not a guilty plea. That's what they're pissed about I thought we were getting some sex talk these Christ

There's not a porn shop in this town. Someone needs to get these people VHS tapes or something because this is crazy You know out on I-15. I'll bet you there's one out there somewhere. No shit. So they sentence him to you, sir. They fuck off again. 15 years in jail, in prison, with five years suspended. So 10 years. Oh my God. this is unbelievable. They said why did you accept a plea to everybody? And they said basically, Mike Miskelly's team said besides wanting the legal case to end, they also recognized that it was a close call and he didn't want to be convicted of murder with a mandatory sentence of life.

So the maximum penalty for manslaughter is 20 years. So they said, that's much better odds. And they said that even though he's been sentenced and everything, he'll remain free on a bond for 30 days to quote, take care of personal business. What are you talking about? What fucking 18 year old kid has personal business? He's got to put his companies in escrow. What are you talking about? I don't understand what's happening. There's an order for I do my time

What the fuck and who what when do we care if a murder is a fair turn? That's your problem His father despite him saying in court he did it said he stills unconvinced that his son did it He said instead he suspected his son pleaded guilty to avoid a possible life sentence He said at this point I can't say whether he did it or not. He said but I never believed it Now the Brown family, they're not upset. They're happy that it's over Yeah, yeah, the dad says it the family feels good that we can go home and know it's over It's been a long time since March 23rd, 1981, which yeah, they, and they also expressed nice people, the Browns, they even expressed sympathy for the Muskeli family and said that we just wanted the fellow to own up to what

he had done. We don't, we didn't want to torture the family. We just want to know what happened to our boy, which is fair, really nice people. So they said, well, how much time is he going to serve here? Yeah. Cause if he's only got 10, if you get out in seven for life. Yeah. They're really nice people. So they said, well, how much time is he gonna serve here? Yeah, because if he's only got 10, and he's probably already served. If you get out in seven for life. Yeah.

So, well, he already did two years and 10 months in the Benton County Jail awaiting his appeal there. So the district attorney, Larry Little, says he expects Miss Kelly to serve a reasonable period in prison, even though he'll be eligible for parole within weeks. Within weeks.

He said we have a pretty good idea that he'll be in the Department of Corrections for at least a while. Which is a very technical term. That's what I want to hear from my elected officials. At least a while he'll be there. I don't know. Wow. He said he's not about to walk in one

door and out the other he said however he doesn't know how much time he's gonna serve now the defense attorney said he told Mike not to expect a quick release from prison he said I told him he was eligible but that meant nothing I didn't promise him that he would get out at any time he said that his client may have already may already eligible for parole. He said, I do expect him to have to serve time in the Department of Corrections somewhere, not just a county jail.

So the state law requires parole officials at the time, 1987, to consider a parole for prisoners who've served one fourth, which would be two years, six months, of a 10-year sentence. He's already done two years, 10 months. So he's already up for 10 year parole. So they said that they have to give him a parole hearing like ASAP. He's basically gonna get there, put his shit down

on his bunk and go right to the parole hearing. Let's go talk about it. So July 19th, 1987, he finally begins serving a sentence. Finally. How long will he serve? Well October 1988 he's out paroled. So he did they gave him a year and anyway anyway you know what do you get a total of less than four years in prison though for premeditated first-degree murder is pretty wild. And he only caves because he likes blow chops. Yeah he was like all right fine if

there was another girl in this town who would put out, none of this, he wouldn't have confessed to any of this, and it wouldn't happen. So the movie comes out then. January of 1989, there is a CBS TV movie about this starring Christian Slater. Oh, there he is. As Mike.

He's the murderer. Yep. It's the murderer. Yep. It's called Desperate for Love. Desperate for blowjobs. Desperate for oral, it should be called. It's based on a true story. And they take a lot of liberties here. The plot is Alex Cutler and Cliff Petrie,

our 17-year-old teens, have been close friends since they were young. Alex is the most popular guy in school liberties here. The plot is Alex Cutler and Cliff Petrie are 17 year old teens who've been close friends since they were young. Alex is the most popular guy in school with a promising future while Cliff is an introverted teen who's never had a girlfriend. Not true. Mike was not like that. Lily Becker, an attractive cheerleader who's very popular despite the fact that she's known for being promiscuous, has been dating Alex for a while and is planning to marry him after graduation. I still like her. She's a whore but I still like her. I tell you what, Alex's father however feels that he should go to university and points out to him that Lily comes from a different environment. Moreover,

he and Lily's father, the town's notorious lowlife hunter, are sworn enemies. Again, that's not it. They also move it to Georgia. It's a small town in Georgia, not Mississippi. They said, yeah, so anyway, they sentenced to jail for eight years, released on parole after four. That's the whole movie. It's just a lot of little things. So it has Christian Slater, Tammy Lauren as Lily,

Brian Bloom as Alex, Veronica Cartwright, Scott Pollard and Amy O'Neill, I don't know. The family in the newspaper the next day says it's inaccurate. I'm sure. Yeah. One guy, an attorney, oh, this is the defense attorney, said I thought they took a lot of literary license with it.

It's a fucking TV movie, yeah, Jesus Christ. They said that, it's interesting here, the movie also wrongly depicted the father, they say, Thomas Gless and Tammy's father, as a drunk who was mean to his wife. So they said he wasn't like that. And they said he wasn't mean to his wife. Wasn't mean to his wife,

liked to drink once in a while. They said, this is Tammy's sister, yeah, Tammy's sister Tommy, T-O-M-M-I-E, Tommy. Said that I didn't like it because it made my family look like trash. It made us look like poor hillbillies. And we are middle class hillbillies at least. We're upper, we're lower middle upper, upper lower, we're not low. We ain't low, so there you go, that everybody is this movie.

Christian Slater stars as this murderer, it's fucking crazy, this is a crazy goddamn story. I can't believe it, he almost got away, he may as well have gotten away with it. He pretty much got away with it. He got blowjobs and barely any jail time, he's fine. And Christian Slater played him in a movie, he's great. It's pretty sweet. Yeah. Yeah. Crime paid for this kid. It's crazy. Shit. So anyway, there you go. If you enjoy this story, please, please, please.

By the way, we weren't calling Tammy a whore. It's perfectly fine. I didn't do it. I don't care at all. Yeah. Jesus. But I have to say people will go, Hey, you got it. Not us, the prosecution, the defense. Nothing. We're, we're just arbitrators on the side. We know nothing. So if you like this story, please get on whatever app you're on, give us five stars, head over to shutupandgivemurder.com, get all your information, all your tickets to live shows. We have the virtual live show, 419, April the 19th, our 420 virtual live show. It's available for two weeks after that to buy, watch, do whatever you want with.

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