Snapped: Women Who Murder - BONUS: Britney Overton and Justin Blake (Snapped: Killer Couples)

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

When a young man is found shot to death, the investigation delves into the dangers of online dating.Season 17, Episode 9Originally aired: August 6, 2023Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE... on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee 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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Starting point is 00:00:33 Visit BedMGM.com for terms and conditions. 19 plus to wager, Ontario only. Please, gamble responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact 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 Kat early and ad-free on Wondery Plus. Hi Snap listeners, we are bringing you a special bonus episode today from Oxygen's hit series
Starting point is 00:01:23 Killer Couples. You can also watch full episodes live or on demand on the free Oxygen app or on Peacock by clicking the link in our description. Enjoy. A peaceful Midwestern community is rocked by a tragic murder. There was a gunshot wound to the head. I just remember laying down and crying. My heart had been ripped out. I couldn't believe that this was happening. Who would want to hurt me? As authorities search for a suspect, the investigation descends into the dangers of online dating.
Starting point is 00:02:03 He said he was going to go meet up with Sundari on Grindr. You don't know who you're meeting up with. It was big fear. Was this a date that went bad? Was this a set up date as a robbery? Lots of questions. The investigation will take a sharp turn as rumors of a toxic romance come into focus,
Starting point is 00:02:28 leading to the discovery of a disturbing betrayal fueled by desperation. They punished him to protect themselves. They needed each other to survive. I still cannot wrap my mind around how you can be so close to somebody and do something so horrific. MUSIC MUSIC SCREAMS MUSIC
Starting point is 00:02:54 MUSIC A quiet community south of Indianapolis, Morgan County, Indiana, may be best known for its family-friendly living. Morgan County is a small rural area about 30 minutes south of Indianapolis. It's a peaceful, quaint community with not a lot of crime. On December 13, 2019, a local resident calls 911 in a panic. The caller reports the victim is lying along a fence adjoining her property. And you're for sure that that person is deceased, right? Oh, oh, yes.
Starting point is 00:03:47 There's bugs crawling around him. There's officers on the way. They're going to be there in just a few minutes, OK? Investigators with the Morgan County Sheriff's Office are immediately dispatched to the scene. I was on call, so I proceeded to the location. This particular area was isolated. It had one residence right off the road.
Starting point is 00:04:16 And the area was shaded by trees and thick brush. The deceased person was in late stages of decomposition. When we looked at the body, it was difficult to even tell if it was male or female. There was a gunshot wound to the head. And I've noticed that the deceased's right pocket was pulled out. So it automatically had us leading the believe in a possible robbery.
Starting point is 00:04:50 Most people carry cell phones. Most people have some kind of ID or credit card or money. So the fact that there was really nothing there led police to believe that maybe that was intended. As we started looking at the scene, we found seven 9mm shell casings. We determined that it was an automatic handgun and possibly a clock
Starting point is 00:05:23 to the indentions on the shell casings. There was some blood found coming from the top of the fence to the bottom. There was some blood found on the rocks below the fence. It was the hypothesis or assumption at the time that the victim was going over the fence and then was shot. When investigators speak with the 911 caller, she says she hadn't seen anything suspicious, but she had heard something four days earlier. She had gone to sleep on September 9th at 430 and heard several gunshots.
Starting point is 00:06:01 But it was a rural area, so there's a lot of target practicing and hunting different people in that area shooting guns off, so it wasn't uncommon. With no clear evidence pointing to who might be responsible, investigators focus on identifying their victim. The body was transported to our Morton County morgue, and then forensic pathologists did an autopsy on the deceased the next day.
Starting point is 00:06:34 The forensic pathologist determined that it was a male probably in their 20s, approximately 6'2", 6'3". The pathologist confirms the victim died from a single gunshot wound to the head. They couldn't say exactly when, but they just know the body had been out there for a few days. We also were able to get fingerprints from the deceased at the autopsy, and those were put into what's called APHIS. We got hit on the fingerprint for a male out of Jacksonville, Illinois named Alexander Jackson.
Starting point is 00:07:16 The Morgan County Sheriff's Office, they were asking themselves questions like, what was this guy doing out here? And why was he killed? Well, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:07:30 Born in Illinois in 1996, Alexander Jackson had always been bright and brainy. Alex was born and raised in Jacksonville. He was a good kid. And he was really, really smart. Alex was very outgoing, caring, bubbly. I mean, when you think of somebody that would literally give you the shirt off their back, I mean, that is him to AT.
Starting point is 00:07:53 He loved science. Everything with plants, trees. He would always hate saying people cut trees down and everything. He always just wanted to do what he could to help the environment. We called him Sid, Sid the Science Kid, because he would have all these, like, facts that no one, like, why do you know that?
Starting point is 00:08:14 You know? When he graduated high school, he then decided to go to Western University in Illinois to study environmental science. One day his sophomore year of college, I guess there's a coming out day, he had posted this post. It said that I was gay.
Starting point is 00:08:40 He just really figured out who he wanted to be, what he wanted to do, and we were all just really proud of that. After sophomore year, Alex decided to join his aunt in Indianapolis. Alex moved in with me January of 2017. He wanted to come here to spread his wings. I was the person who kind of just introduced him to the scene, the gay scene, you know, on Mass App.
Starting point is 00:09:12 He did drag and things like that, and he was having a lot of fun with that. In July 2017, he decided he wanted to get his own apartment. And I was kind of sad when he decided to leave because I really enjoyed having him around. But I was happy that he was finding his way in life. But Alex's plans for the future would come to a tragic end on an isolated stretch of road nearly 20 miles from home in Indianapolis. Once they got Alex identified, then the detective would reach out to the family. I was able to get in contact with Alex's mother, Lelona Jackson. I remember them telling me that they had found him.
Starting point is 00:10:16 It's... that moment is kind of a blur. Because I was there by myself, I just remember... laying down and crying. I think it dropped to the floor. It felt like... a part of my soul, my heart, had been ripped out. I couldn't believe that this was happening. Who would want to hurt him? I learned that Alex had moved to Indianapolis to live with his aunt. Who would want to hurt him?
Starting point is 00:10:50 I learned that Alex had moved to Indianapolis to live with his aunt, Heather. He was taking classes there and working a job and doing really good for the most part. Alex's mother says her son's life had taken an unexpected turn after he moved out of his aunt's home in July of 2017. He lived in an apartment complex, and something had happened above him. And so water had leaked into his apartment, and he ended up needing to leave. Talking to Lelona, he was actually
Starting point is 00:11:24 staying with friends at different places and hotels. And I think that kind of got him in a situation where he was getting with the wrong people. He had quit his job and he quit school and started to hang around some people that were partying a little too hard. Alex called me and voiced some concern about the people that he had been hanging out with and that he had been doing things that maybe he shouldn't have been. He knew he needed to stop.
Starting point is 00:11:56 It was quite a shock. Coming up, a chilling discovery leads investigators to uncover a bitter conflict between friends. You've made a cryptic Facebook post in which he tagged Alex and said, robbing the debt. That post sounded very awful, especially the timing. But a deeper look at Alex's dating life suggests a more sinister motive. Anytime you're dealing with one of these dating apps, there's a concern that you don't know who you're dealing with.
Starting point is 00:12:31 And unfortunately, there could be predators out there. Investigators have identified 23-year-old Alex Jackson as the murder victim found off a rural road in Morgan County, Indiana. And law enforcement has learned that Alex's family had become concerned about him in recent months. There was about a month or two there that I'm not sure exactly what happened, but things went downhill quickly. You know, the people he hung out with, I didn't know them. I knew his friends before and all of a sudden things changed.
Starting point is 00:13:23 These people, I had no clue who they were. No clue. While Alex's family is unable to name any of Alex's new friends, they can offer investigators helpful insight. Alex's car actually was in the shop, so he needed a rental car. And this family friend offered to get him a rental car for four days. And after that four days, they're like, well, why wasn't the rental car returned?
Starting point is 00:13:53 It was a short-term rental that would have been on September 6th. On the 10th, that rental car was not returned. They didn't know where the car was. Investigators immediately begin the search for the vehicle, a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. They also issue a press release hoping to identify Alex's new friends in the city. It's important to know who was the last person to talk to them or had seen them. We were trying to locate names as far as who he hung out with
Starting point is 00:14:27 and where he might have been. And with the press release, we had gotten a call from one of Alex's friends who gave us some information on who he had been hanging out with at the time. One of the names mentioned was Chad. According to the tipster, Chad had made an alarming post on social media on September 6th, three days before authorities believe Alex was killed. On September 6th, Chad made a cryptic Facebook post in which he tagged Alex
Starting point is 00:15:02 and said something to the effect of robbing the dead. They were concerned about the post due to the fact that Alex was deceased. That post sounded very awful, especially the timing. So at that time we located Chad and we went and spoke with him. When investigators confront Chad about the social media post, he alleges that Alex was the thief in question, not him. Chad said that him and Alex were friends and that Alex had actually stayed with him for a while and that him and Alex had a falling out due to the fact that Alex might have taken some items from him.
Starting point is 00:15:47 Chad claims that the alleged theft occurred after the two friends partied together on September 6th. Chad had bought some drugs and had used the drugs and had nearly overdosed. When he woke up, his money was gone and he blamed Alex for taking it. So he stated that he posted that due to the fact that he was robbing him while he was almost dying.
Starting point is 00:16:14 So that was his explanation for the post. The situation had bothered Chad, but he's emphatic that he didn't kill Alex. We have a software that we use that actually can show which towers in an area that cell phones had sent data to. And when our evidence tech ran those numbers through, we found that Chad's number at the morning of the homicide was far away from the crime scene. Cleared of any connection to Alex's death,
Starting point is 00:16:47 Chad suggests they talked to Alex's closest friend in Indianapolis. He advised that there was another person that Alex hung out with on a regular basis named Brittany Overton. Alex really trusted Brittany and kind of looked at her as maybe a big sister. She was older and looked up to her for guidance, protection, stability. Brittany's name came up and that eventually led the investigators to pay a visit on Brittany. We proceeded to her grandmother's house, and we talked to Brittany.
Starting point is 00:17:34 This is Mark Anderson. Let's sit here for a minute. OK. We are investigating Alex's death. What happened to him? He was shot and killed. Was shot? I'm sorry.
Starting point is 00:17:45 I can't. I can't. She said she had been friends with Alex for a year or so, ran around with him on occasions, and partied with him. So had Alex ever lived with you or stayed with you or have you ever lived with him? He never lived with me. He was talking about getting an apartment together.
Starting point is 00:18:05 OK. According to Brittany, the last time she saw Alex was the evening of September 8, 2019. She said they were driving around in a blue rental car that Alex had. They had gone to a couple of stores during the day, and at 11 o'clock that night, he had dropped her off at her house. Brittany puts herself with Alex together at her house
Starting point is 00:18:31 in the blue rental car. Alex leaves at 11 p.m., was supposed to come back, he never came back. So now we're getting a lot closer to what happened to Alex the morning of the night, when the neighbors heard gunshots at 430 a.m. So we're not sure exactly who he was with or wherever he was at from 11 p.m. beforehand.
Starting point is 00:18:53 He said he was gonna go meet up with some guy on Grindr. Grindr is an app where men can meet other men. Did he say who that guy was? No name. Like, okay, we'll be careful, you know, come back if you want to. Cause he didn't have a place to stay at the point in time. I was concerned maybe he met up with somebody on Grindr and that something had happened. And that we really wanted to find out who he met up with at that time.
Starting point is 00:19:23 Was this a date that went mad? Was this a set up date as a robbery? Lots of questions. 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 Nicholas Mangione,
Starting point is 00:19:49 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. What if your mind could trick your body into feeling sick? Or even worse? In Hysterical, I investigate the bizarre medical mystery that unfolds in a high school in upstate
Starting point is 00:20:15 New York. It starts with one girl developing strange, violent symptoms. And then another. And then another. Rumors begin to swirl. Is it something in the water, inside the school, or is it all in their heads? Hysterical is my search for answers.
Starting point is 00:20:31 And along the way, I uncover surprising connections to unexplained incidents around the world. Events that challenge everything we think we know about our bodies and our minds. Named podcast of the year at the Gambys, Hysterical is a mind-bending, unforgettable ride. Binge all episodes right now, exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Start your free trial of Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
Starting point is 00:20:56 One week after the body of Alex Jackson was discovered, his friend, Brittany Overton, has just told investigators that Alex planned to meet up with a grinder date the night of September 8th, the last time anyone saw Alex alive. Brittany said that he was meeting or talking to a male on a dating app. If it's true Alex was with Brittany at 11 p.m.
Starting point is 00:21:24 the night before he was killed, and he went on a grinder, how did this person come into play? Anytime you're dealing with one of these dating apps, there's a concern that you don't know who you're dealing with. And unfortunately, there could be predators out there. Detective Mark Anderson immediately obtains a search warrant for Alex's personal Grinder account. When I got the information back from the dating app, it just gave me the username and when they would log in or log off. It didn't give me any names who they talked to. It didn't give me names that they looked up with or anything like that. That reached a dead end. A lot of these dating sites are very discreet for the obvious reason.
Starting point is 00:22:17 But just as the investigation hits a roadblock, authorities receive crucial information that breathes new life into the case. Alex's rental car was found by Indianapolis police, abandoned. The rental car was found wrecked on a road in Indianapolis. The theory then is the people that killed Alex may have been the same people in the rental car when it was wrecked. So we did search warrants on the rental car. When we got the vehicle back, we noticed that
Starting point is 00:22:50 in the passenger seat, there was a set of keys. And we realized there was a car key to Buick. The keys to the rental car were there, but this extra set of keys was significant to investigators because it led them to wonder who did these belong to. Also interestingly about the rental car, the front plate of the radio was removed and the radio was actually pulled out and we were able to recover some very good fingerprints of the right hand
Starting point is 00:23:22 of an individual on top of the radio. Detectives, evidence technicians process for evidence, and of course it doesn't come back right away. So we're waiting on DNA, we're waiting on fingerprints. While investigators wait on forensics, weeks pass without any new leads. For the first several weeks, investigators didn't really have a lot to go on. They were reaching out to anyone who might have known Alex in the Indianapolis area. Unfortunately, they really weren't able to get any answers. answers. Five weeks after Alex's death, investigators receive a promising tip from a concerned woman.
Starting point is 00:24:15 We went and spoke with her. She stated that her grandson had told her that he had shot somebody named Alex. He then showed her on his phone a article from a local television station where Alex Jackson was identified as deceased in a homicide. She had asked him why, and he had made a comment that he thought that this person was going to try to hurt him. She gave me the name of Justin Blake. I had never heard that name in an investigation.
Starting point is 00:24:56 Justin's grandmother explains that 18-year-old Justin had had a tumultuous upbringing. 16-year-old Justin had had a tumultuous upbringing. Justin grew up in Indianapolis and at a very young age, his sister and him were taken from biological parents through the Department of Child Services and spent some time in foster care and he was adopted at one point in time. Justin had gotten into some trouble and had gotten incarcerated as a juvenile. It was too hard for them to take care of him, so they kind of washed their hands of him,
Starting point is 00:25:38 and he went to the system. Justin lived on and off on the streets. By the time he was 18, a fairly hardened individual, which is really sad. Six months earlier, Justin had reconnected with his grandmother. Grandma treated him with love, was concerned about his appearance, concerned about who he was hanging around with, but still, as a grandmother's love would be, what can I do for you?
Starting point is 00:26:14 And Justin buried his soul and basically told Grandma that he'd killed somebody. She was still in shock that he had said this to her, but she knew she was trying to do the right thing, so she gave that information. Investigators know they need to speak with Justin immediately. She told me he was at the Hendricks County Jail in October of 2019, that he had gotten arrested for having a stolen van and a stolen gun. And she was concerned that possibly that maybe that gun was involved in the case. We had then a good belief that this person was
Starting point is 00:26:58 a viable suspect and Alex was killed. And that's when I went to the Henrich County Jail and spoke is killed. And that's when I went to the Hanrish County general and spoke to Justin. Justin? Hey, Doug. Mark Anderson. With Morgan County Sheriff's Department. This is Dean Minton.
Starting point is 00:27:19 It's OK. And first thing is, we're not here because we don't care what you're here for. Absolutely don't care. We're here for something else. You go back to your cell anytime, you know, and talk to us. I advised him that I was here to speak to him about homicide. What did I ask? What about homicide? He was a man named Alex Jackson. Alex Jackson. Alex Jackson.
Starting point is 00:27:47 And it wasn't until a short time later he stated, oh yeah, I know Alex. But I have only met him two times. Investigators informed Justin an anonymous tip has implicated the team in Alex's murder. So why would your name come up in this homicide? I don't know, sir. I mean, did they specifically mention your name? I mean, I had a bad reputation because I've been locked up.
Starting point is 00:28:14 OK. You not shot anybody? No, sir. OK. You didn't tell anybody you did? No, sir. He tried to explain that he only met Alex twice, and he tried to brush it off that he didn't really know him.
Starting point is 00:28:29 When asked how he met Alex, Justin tells investigators they were introduced through Justin's girlfriend. What's the girls' name? Brittany. Brittany what? Oh, it's Brittany. When I heard that, then it started clicking together that the two names were connected.
Starting point is 00:28:47 Britney and Justin. Over a month after the shooting death of Alex Jackson, investigators in Morgan County, Indiana, have zeroed in on Justin Blake as the primary person of interest, when Justin reveals he was introduced to Alex by Alex's friend, Brittany Overton. Investigators made the connection that Justin knew Brittany. In fact, the two had a relationship for some time.
Starting point is 00:29:26 And add that to the fact that investigators were told by Justin's grandmother that Justin had confessed to killing Alex. These were strong pieces of evidence. Justin was pretty much saying he's not involved on the why you're here. However, Justin does admit to being with Brittany and Alex on September 8.
Starting point is 00:29:47 The evening investigators believe Alex was killed. Justin started to tell a story very similar to Brittany, that he saw Alex that night. Alex had a date on the dating app, and that Alex left in a blue rental car at 11 PM and never came back. He said that Alex dropped him off at the house. He never saw Alex after that.
Starting point is 00:30:20 I just don't think you're giving me all the information. I gave you all the information that I knew. We didn't talk to him much longer after that because we wanted to make sure we had another shot to talk to him. While Justin is escorted back to his jail cell, investigators focus on the stolen weapon found in his possession during his recent arrest. I then called the arresting officer in that case to confirm what kind of weapon he was
Starting point is 00:30:52 charged with. He had a revolver in his possession at the time, so it didn't match the shell casings that we found at the scene due to the fact the revolver doesn't spin out shell casings. They weren't able to find the murder weapon. So they strongly suspected that Justin had dumped the weapon shortly after the murder. Still, investigators have no idea what motive Justin would have,
Starting point is 00:31:22 or what role Brittany Overton might have played in the crime. Before circling back to Brittany, they focused their efforts on developing evidence against her. So we did search warrants of social media, cell phone records, cell phone power locations, anything that we could to either include or exclude someone as a suspect. Brittany had clearly kept some interesting company.
Starting point is 00:31:51 There was some involvement in the drug community. Not terrible, but enough that she was on probation. We learned that Brittany met Justin Blake through a drug dealer. They had the same dealer. met Justin Blake through a drug dealer. They had the same dealer. Once I got the Facebook records for Brittany Overton, you can see that she's hanging with Justin a lot as a couple in pictures. Brittany and Justin did have a sexual relationship with each other.
Starting point is 00:32:23 He had a bad guy persona about him already, and he was only 18 at the time. I think in looking at some of the social media, she had a bad boy crush on him. There was some comment that all they'd been through, they had a bond, like a band of brothers, thick as thieves type of bond. When I'm going through her accounts,
Starting point is 00:32:49 I'm finding conversations with her and other subjects in the criminal world. Just days prior to the homicide, she's actually talking to people about wanting to get a gun. Investigators are unable to determine if Brittany had acquired a gun. But as they continue analyzing her social media data and usage, they come to a startling realization. Neighbors heard gunshots at around 4.30 a.m. on the morning of September 9th, which is believed to be the time that Alex was killed.
Starting point is 00:33:28 And then at 445 a.m., Brittany logged onto her Facebook account and she unfriended Alex. That stuck in our mind really hard. It was exactly 15 minutes after the homicide that she befriended Alex Jackson. minutes after the homicide that she did for Alex Jackson. Once we had that foundation, then when those cell records came back, her cell phone put her in the area of the Northman Road, very close to where Alex was killed at 4 31 a.m.
Starting point is 00:34:01 on September 9th. Investigators have the evidence they need to secure a warrant for Brittany's arrest. When they receive the forensic analysis on Alex's rental car, the case becomes more than circumstantial. We sent a copy of Justin Blake's fingerprints to the state lab with the fingerprint
Starting point is 00:34:24 that we found on the radio. They called back and confirmed it was a match to his fingerprints. So that places him in the vehicle. The DNA results on the keys, those DNA results came back to Brittany Overton. The DNA, the phone records, all kind of put Justin there, Brittany there.
Starting point is 00:34:48 There didn't seem to be any obvious motive, but it was time to roll up our sleeves, file the charges, and get arrest warrants for Justin Blake and Brittany Overton. On October 3rd, 2020, more than a year after Alex Jackson's murder, police take Justin Blake and Brittany Overton into custody. Justin had been in Hendricks County Jail for stealing a car and having a gun in his possession. But at that point, Justin had been released from jail. Justin was in Indianapolis with a new girlfriend.
Starting point is 00:35:32 And he was located at her residence. Brittany was found inside Indianapolis city limits. Hi, Justin. You remember me? Investigators sit down with Justin first and confront him with the evidence stacked against him. So why would I just kill somebody? That's no way. Well, I don't know.
Starting point is 00:35:59 Why would you? Is there something going wrong? Do you have dope you want to buy? A little fight? Is there a fight? Is there a fight? I'm sorry. He just denied it the whole time and said the same story he said before.
Starting point is 00:36:14 He was given a voice stress test. He agreed to take one. And of course, he failed it. After that, he pretty much said, I want to talk to a lawyer. Detectives next turn their attention to Brittany. I think you want to get it off your chest of what happened and get justice for Alex. I'm confused.
Starting point is 00:36:50 So you're saying that I'm associated with it because I witnessed it. Did you witness it? No, I'm saying like this is what he's saying. Brittany for two hours played innocent. We know you were there, 100%. When Alex died, you were there. There's no doubt in our mind. We know you were there, 100%. When Alex died, you were there. There's no doubt in our mind. And it wasn't until the detectives talked about
Starting point is 00:37:10 that her phone records put her at the scene. There was no way she wasn't there. These are all locations where your phone is pinging. That's the exact time Alex was killed, and you're all over here. I think she finally realized, well, let's tell this story and see what happens. And then she gave a story of what happened that night. All those pieces of the puzzle fell into place as we had planned.
Starting point is 00:37:52 Indiana authorities have arrested Brittany Overton and Justin Blake for the murder of Brittany's friend Alex Jackson. While Justin continues to maintain his innocence, Brittany eventually cracks under the pressure. Brittany told them that on the night of September 8, Alex had picked her up in his rental car. Brittany said Alex and her was running around. And at some point in time in the night, they picked Justin up. They were driving around, partying a bit, and at a certain point, Justin suggested they go try to make some fast money. They get Alex to contact a guy from Grindr, and they set up a date to meet him, and they were going to rob him. According to Brittany, when the trio arrived at the apartment
Starting point is 00:38:50 complex, Justin forced Alex to accompany him to the front door. I sat in the car. They ended up going inside. They ended up going inside. Brittany stated that when they met the guy, Justin started pistol-whippin' him. Brittany said that Alex didn't expect them to beat him up and be that violent. A leaguer was a PlayStation and was born. And maybe a checkbook.
Starting point is 00:39:46 Brittany claims the trio partied for the next several hours. But Alex became increasingly upset about what had happened. Alex has never seen this kind of stuff before. He's not a criminal. That must have been a shock. He was kind of regretting doing the robberies and stuff, and was talking about it. There was a concern that Alex would snitch on them.
Starting point is 00:40:13 They ended up on this road. And at that time then, Justin supposedly tells her to stop the car. What do you mean, stop the car? He's like, stop the f***ing car. And he's got a gun, and it's held right here to my head. At that point in time, I was scared. When she stopped the car, he then made the comment,
Starting point is 00:40:45 Alex, you know it's time. And at that time, she says, Alex looks over at her and says, What's going on, Brittany? I'm freaking out. He said, Brittany, what's going on? I said, I don't know. And we were both pretty hysterical that time. So Justin gets out of the car and pulls Alex out of the car.
Starting point is 00:41:13 Justin gets out, put the gun in his hand, and she proceeds to look straight ahead and hear several gunshots. Hear Alex screaming? anything like that? Yeah, dude. It's just like a spirit kind of scream in gunshots. And then Justin gets in the front seat of the car. He had the gun in his hand and Alex's cell phone. And Justin drives her, drops her off and says, don't say anything to anybody or you're going to die. And then he drives off and leaves. Investigators aren't buying Brittany's story.
Starting point is 00:42:10 If Brittany was afraid of Justin, she certainly didn't seem to show it in the days after the murder. Brittany admitted to police that they used the rental car for two days after the murder. He had had it hid for a couple days. Okay, and then came back and got you? Yeah. She said that her and Just were drinking and that he ran off the road and hit the tree. So you were in the car when the car was wrecked, right?
Starting point is 00:42:41 Yeah. So I'm seeing now that she's more of a manipulative person and you can see where she's doing anything she can to survive. While Justin continues to deny any involvement, investigators have what they need to file charges. We charged Justin Blake with murder and felony murder. Murder for shooting Alex, felony murder for stealing the car. We charged Brittany Overton only with felony murder and robbery. We did not believe that she pulled the trigger. I didn't know anything about Brittany,
Starting point is 00:43:19 but I just needed whoever was responsible to pay for it. They took my baby for no reason. After the arrests were made, the family was happy. Milana was happy. My brother was happy. But now comes trial. With Britney's testimony and a mountain of physical and digital evidence in tow,
Starting point is 00:43:56 prosecutors take Justin's case to a jury in February of 2022. While prosecutors don't need to prove motive as an element of their case, they believe they know why Alex was killed that night. Alex fell in with the wrong crowd. He certainly wasn't hardened like Brittany and Justin. Ultimately, Alex was caught up in their crimes,
Starting point is 00:44:20 and as soon as he showed a sign of weakness, they punished him for that, to protect themselves. Obviously, they were intimate. They found some attraction to each other. I think it became a bond of what they did together that night and then a bond of how they thought they could get away with it. Despite Justin's defense team attempting to shift blame solely to Brittany, on February 24, 2022, the jury sides with the prosecution. The jury convicted Justin of all counts, murder, felony murder, and robbery.
Starting point is 00:45:10 We proceeded to sentencing and the judge gave him 61 years. In May 2022, Brittany Overton accepts a plea bargain. The judge did credit her for testifying in Justin's trial. The judge ended up giving her 20 years with 17 and 1 half to do. Brittany teared up a little bit, but I didn't think she was very remorseful. I still cannot wrap my mind around how you could be so close to somebody like Alex and do something so horrific.
Starting point is 00:45:48 I just will never understand why. They took an amazing person and that was part of the problem. He was so trusting and befriended people because he saw the good in everyone. and befriended people because he saw the good in everyone. Britney Overton will be eligible for parole in 2033 at the age of 39. Justin Blake will be eligible for parole in 2066 at the age of 65. Everyone has that friend who seems kind of perfect. For Patty, that friend was Desiree. Until one day, I texted her and she was not getting the text.
Starting point is 00:46:34 So I went to Instagram and she has no Instagram anymore. And Facebook, no Facebook anymore. Desiree was gone. And there was one person who knew the answer. I am a spiritual person, a magical person, a witch. A gorgeous Brazilian influencer called Cat Torres, but who was hiding a secret. From Wondery, based on my smash hit podcast from Brazil, comes a new series, Don't Cross Cat, about a search that led me to a mystery in a Texas suburb.
Starting point is 00:47:14 I'm Chico Felitti. You can listen to Don't Cross Cat on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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