Sword and Scale - Episode 237

Episode Date: April 3, 2023

Megan Rose Hiatt thought she had met her Prince Charming when a handsome, military man named Gawain Rush Wilson waltzed into her life and swept her off her feet. A year later her world would be changed forever. Today we tell a story of tragedy and survival. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. Hello and welcome to season 10 episode 237 of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals if the worst monsters are real. I hate doing this sort of thing because your adults and you know what you're getting into, but this is a true crime show and occasionally there are trigger warnings that are worthy of being stated. This is one of them. I don't think an episode has affected me this much ever. On this show, we tell stories of human brutality and the unbelievable crimes that evil people commit. We cover in great detail the horrible things most people don't even want to talk about.

We tell the stories of the victims who had the unfortunate bad luck of crossing paths with a killer. Usually, those victims are no longer alive to share their tale. But today's episode is a little different. Today we want you to meet Megan Rose Hyatt. Megan was a victim, but today she's definitely a survivor. Megan today is very different from the Megan she was seven years ago. The Megan who existed back then was just like most middle-class girls in America. She was open-hearted, bright, and bubbly. A naive, people pleaser.

You might even see a bit of yourself in young Megan. Today, Megan is on crutches about to go into yet another surgery for her mutilated leg. She's missing a knife. She's seen death and faced it head on, but she is one of the strongest people we've ever come across. What Megan lived through is unfathomable. It's also one of the most brutal cases of domestic violence that we've ever heard. Today, Megan will tell you her story. My name is Megan Rose Hyatt,

and I'm from Jacksonville, Florida. I have a twin brother named Tyler. I am the oldest by 15 minutes. I feel like that needs to be noted that I am the oldest. I lived in the same bedroom for 21 years in this Quentin Little House on Mapo Road and my parents, Melissa and my dad, Jimmy,

they were just loving and encouraged us in everything. They later divorced when we were 12 and that was kind of traumatic, but we got through it. My brother got through it. Despite the divorce, Megan had a beautiful childhood. It was everything I could have dreamed of in a childhood. Like my parents, my church, my friends, like looking back on my childhood, it was be best. And I wish often that I could return to it. The Hyatt family were, and still are, members of the Church of Latter-day Saints.

In other words, Mormons. I still go to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Used to be known as the Mormons. I feel like there are churches for everybody and you have to find the one that fits you best. And this just happens to fit me and my family best. And my dad was, he was a priest and holder and he loved everybody in the church.

He actually got baptized when I was five years old. So he wasn't a member until I was five years old. And I really admired that because he didn't, my dad didn't ever do anything half-ass. Like, he put in 120% all the time. And when he decided to take on Christ and God and have a faith, he did it right. He did it.

He went in 120%. Megan and her father, Jimmy, were extremely close. She was a daddy's girl. Megan grew up idolizing her father so much that she wanted to mirror his career footsteps. When I was 12, I wanted to be a civil engineer. My dad was a master of all traits. He worked in construction, specifically HVAC must my life. And I wanted so much to be in the construction world,

because my dad was in the construction world. And I'm like, I told my dad I wanted to work in construction, and he was like, no, until I came up with wanting to be a civil engineer and he was like that's perfect Not only was Megan inspired by her father's ability to work with his hands and fix any mechanical issue that was thrown his way But he also possessed a calmness and spirituality that she looked up to He had thyroid cancer and After that everything kind of changed. He was very calm, he was very peaceful, but he never was very confrontational my whole life.

He didn't like to get mad. And so when he became really calm, nothing bothered him after his thyroid cancer was removed. Like that was, he just became wiser. I don't know if he was just kind of having like a midlife crisis as far as like what he really wanted out of life. And you know the cancer, him having cancer, you know, changed that open his eyes and he realized, you know, the cancers, him having cancer, you know, change that and open his eyes and he realized, you know, like, why am I gonna get an attitude with anyone? He went from, you know, like just normal, like, disagreements in life with other people to he was just all encompassing and loving of everybody. Being freed from cancer gave Jimmy a new respect for life, that he instilled into his children

and anyone around him. He was a loving father who tried his best to teach his children moral values, independence and spiritual hope. He would read the scriptures every night and pray as a family. My dad really went all in. He didn't take anything lightly but that commitment that he made. He really committed to it and really surrounded our family in Christ and in Heavenly Father and he really instilled faith in us so much so that that is that is all that really matters to me is my faith in Heavenly Father and God now. I wouldn't

be where I am now if I didn't have that faith. Being raised all the S. Megan wasn't really allowed to date as a teenager. By the time she was 20, she had only dated two guys, one of which broke her heart and left her quite scattered and broken. In June of 2014, Megan would meet the man who would change her life forever, and it all started with Plenty of fish. I got on plenty of fish and I was I was having a whole phase. I was just I wanted free food, like I was going on dates. I was I was I was in a whole phase, like just to be completely honest, like I I look back and I'm like, wow, I did a lot in that time and none of it was productive. Megan was on plenty of fish having fun. She went on lots of dates and enjoyed being courted. Then she met Gawain Rush Wilson. Me and Rush talked on plenty of fish. We

message each other in the dating app for three weeks before we even met. And I thought that was like, I thought that was kind of cool. Like he wasn't in a rush. He really wanted to get to know me. He really wanted, he really cared about creating a relationship with someone. And that's something I admired because that's not something I was doing. And that's not something these other guys on playing official that I was messaging were doing. Megan was surprised and enamored with Russia's patience and flirting. Plus, he was older and judging by his online pictures, he was just her type. when we met, we were six and a half years apart. And he is over six feet tall, black, very slender, very like, like, lanky, but still had muscle.

He was Jamaican, so we had a little accent. Though they hadn't met in person yet, Megan got to know Rush as they chatted and everything she found out about his life and career impressed her. Rush was born in Jamaica, and he and his mom and his sisters migrated here when he was eight years old. They moved to New York City. They lived in the Bronx. And then Rush wanted U.S. citizenship, so he joined the military. His first station was Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, and his second station was NAS Jax, which is in Jacksonville, Florida. And he was in Jacksonville between those two bases for seven years. He did go on a lot of deployments, but he was mainly in the Jacksonville area. Growing up in a military town,

Megan loved a man in uniform. Who was this tall, dark, handsome helicopter mechanic who wanted to take her out on a date? Megan had high hopes for a future with this perfect stranger. He's looking for something serious. Like that's ultimately that's the in-game, that's what I want. Megan and Rush finally met in person. After working a long shift at a hookah bar, Megan went home, took a quick shower, and then

went to meet Rush at his naval base at 2am. It all felt very exhilarating and taboo. And I parked in this parking spot in this little like parking lot and one of his friends who was on duty with him came and picks me up in this truck and got me on base and took me to the helicopter hinger and I was like, what is going on here? got me on base and took me to the helicopter hinger. And I was like, what is going on here? Like I didn't realize he was like on duty.

And so I get there and he's in his blues and he looks divine. I was like, dang, he's a lot harder than when he is in the pictures, those don't do him justice. Rush greeted Megan with a warm smile. Maybe it was the naval base, his uniform, his accent, or all of it swimming together, but she was pretty smitten. And then so we sat down in this desk area

in front of the hanger, and we just sat there and chatted. And then he showed me the helicopters. Like I actually got in a helicopter and now I'm mind you I do not think this was what he was supposed to be doing. I think he could have gotten in a lot of trouble because of it. But I was just like so like taken back like oh my gosh he works on these helicopters and really taken back by him. We sat in front in the office until seven o'clock in the morning. Mind you, I got there at two and was there until seven when he was relieved of duty. And then he drove me back to my car and

the car wouldn't start. When they realized that Megan's car battery had died, rush acted like a gentleman, took care of everything. It was pouring down rain and I just thought it was I was like he saved my life. Like that's what I thought. Like immature Megan was, oh, he jumped in my car. Like he's my prince charming. That was our first date and we spent every single day together after that. Things would move very quickly for the couple. So quickly that young, vulnerable Megan

barely had a chance to look around her and observe exactly what was going on beneath Russia's pristine surface. 20-year-old Megan Rose Hyatt had met her Prince Charming Rush Wilson. Rush worked in the military as a helicopter mechanic. He was tall, dark, handsome, and the most impressive man Megan had ever met. After sweeping her off her feet on their first date, they became an instant couple. He was everything at first, everything. He marked all the boxes. He was everything at first. Everything. He marked all the boxes. He was looking to buy a house. He had his two cars paid off.

He had a motorcycle girl paid off. He had money in his savings account. He was charming. He was just checking off. He was educated. He had a nice job with benefits. Everything that you ideally would look for long term in a marriage, he was just checking off every box.

Russian Megan had only been dating for a month and a half before he invited her to move in. I moved in in end of July, beginning of August. I lived in the spare room. So in the spare room was all of his ex-wife's belongings. I didn't know why, but she left everything behind and just pieced out. And at that time was, I didn't think it was weird, but I did at the same time, but I didn't want to dive into it, and I didn't want to be overly curious in her his feelings or open old wounds.

Megan didn't want to pry. As much as Russian pressed her, he also intimidated her in a strange way. He was so much more mature than she was. He had an ex-wife, a career, a home, two cars. While Megan was just starting her adult life. So he said I could move in and have all my stuff in the spare bedroom, and we would, you know, sleep in his bed, but all my stuff needed to go in there and that I needed to get rid of his ex-wife's belongings. Megan didn't know it at the time, but Russia's ex-wife's things were abandoned in a spare bedroom because she had fled after Russia chased her and her toddler out of the house with a hammer.

Russia's ex-wife was in hiding and she didn't want him to know where she was. Oblivious to all of that, Megan packed up all Russia's ex-wife's belongings and slowly got rid of it all before she officially moved in herself. I'm moving. I'm cooking dinner every night, making him breakfast, getting up before I have to go to work and making him coffee, and packing his lunch, and making sure he had everything he needed for the day. Like really like, kind of like housewife stuff. Like I was just going all in.

I wanted him to just not, I wanted him to think that I was perfect. Realistically, was I? No, but I wanted him to think that I was perfect and I was worth his time. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly. Megan played housewife and then continued to work her own jobs while rush served in the military. But the bliss didn't last long.

After about a month of living there, there was a night he didn't come home. He didn't come home at all. He didn't answer my text messages. I literally didn't know if he was dead or alive. I was kind of worried, but I didn't have anybody else's contact information for them to check and see if he was alive. So I just sat on the couch awake all night just rummaging over my feelings and and my anxiety of what's going on, why is this happening? Megan sat biting her nails, imagining the worst case scenarios of what could have happened to rush. Her thoughts were interrupted at sunrise when rush strolled in the front door, like nothing had happened. And then he shows up at six o'clock in the morning and he's like, hey,

and I'm like, hey, I thought you were dead. Like, I didn't know if you were alive or not, text message saying you are alive would be kind of, you know, that would be nice or I'm like, hey, I thought you were dead. Like, I didn't know if you were alive or not, text message saying you are alive would be kind of, you know, that would be nice or I'm not coming home. That is when things started to get weird. Over the next little while, Russia's behavior started to become more and more questionable. And that started to happen a lot where he would just disappear for a day or two. And I'm living in his house.

Like he's not even coming home to get clothes or food or anything. He's just gone. I wanted a man's love and approval so much that I dealt with other things that realistically I wouldn't put up with now. Regardless of Rush being gone without explanation, the relationship continued on. Rush decided he was going to buy a house and the couple moved that fall. October 18th is when we moved into the house in Oceanway. And when he was looking at houses,

he would take me along with him to see what I liked about the house and what I didn't like about the house. So I thought that we were more serious. I was like, oh, he's including me on this huge transaction. Like this is a huge life choice and he's including me, which huge transaction. Like, this is a huge life choice. And he's including me, which I thought was so,

I just thought that was so attractive. I was like, oh, he must really love me. And we picked out a house. It was a five bedroom, three bath, no, three and a half bath. It was a two story house. It was beautiful. They signed the paperwork for the new house on October 15th, which was Megan's 21st birthday. It felt like a gift, but just as

Rush brought Megan's spirits up with the new house, they were crushed when his mother and sisters came to visit. And then his family comes for a weekend. Technically he said we were not together because he was afraid of what his family would say about me being a white girl. So realistically like they knew, but Rush was just trying to like not have an issue with his mom. According to Megan Rush's mother was very unimpressed that he had decided to shack up with a white girl

instead of a Jamaican woman. Turns out racism is alive and well, just not the way you think. Russia was very close to his mother. He was the only boy with two sisters, and according to Megan, no woman would ever be good enough for her only son. Rush's mother had become very protective and involved with her only son after she split up with his father. Rush never accepted any olive branch as father extended. Russia did not like his father.

From what I understand, it's because of the way he treated his mother. But then I wonder if Russia was the way he was because of his father. Russia helped his mother out, sending her money and supporting her in any way that he could. Which Megan didn't mind, but whenever Russia's family paid a visit, Megan said things were uncomfortable. His life was centered around her, and her approval, and her opinions, and her wants, and her desires,

and was very controlling when it came to relationships, but she lived in New York City. So when she was gone, it really wasn't, there wasn't any control there because she was in New York City. So when she was gone, it really wasn't there wasn't any control there because she was in New York City. So there wasn't that control, but when she came, it was just overwhelming. That weekend that they were in town, they left on Sunday night, Monday morning. I realized that hadn't had a period. So I went and I took a pregnancy test. I got off work, went and bought one, came home, took it,

and within seconds that double line lit up. Like there was no waiting five minutes, so I found out I'm pregnant. The news was shocking. Megan had just turned 21. She had only known Rush for five months. I was scared, shitless. I was scared, shitless.

I didn't think I was ready to be a mom. This is not something I wanted at this moment in time. But I, talking to my dad, I knew that what was meant to be was meant to be. And when he found out I was pregnant, he was like, you and Rush are a team now. You have to be a team. You have to talk, communicate, grow together.

But he was all about us being a team and being the best parents that we could be. Regardless of her father's positive and uplifting reaction to the pregnancy, Megan was nervous to tell Rush the news. She knew that when he came home from work, he would want his 30 minutes to decompress. Rush had a strict rule that Megan was not to bother him after work until he had some time to relax alone. So I sit down on the couch and mind you, his sister, Kim is still there. His younger sister and his mom already flew back home, but Kim is still there.

And I was like, Hey, Kim, have you heard from rush? Like when is he getting home? And she's like, oh, he's on his way. I'm like, okay, I think he gets there. And I'm like, time is passing by too slow. But he gets, he walks in the door and I'm like, okay, I think he gets there. And I'm like, time is passing by too slow. But he gets, he walks in the door and I'm like, hey, can you come upstairs? I really need to talk to you. No, Megan, you know, it's my 30 minutes. I'm like, no, I really need to talk to you. Like, I really need you to come upstairs. And he's like, no, Megan is my 30 minutes, you know, like,

basically, you know, the rules. Like he's, you know know in charge of me or something and I threw the pregnancy test at him Megan waited for Russia's reaction Surprise shock disbelief joy Not exactly He gets so pissed off and he walks through the front door slams it and is screaming at the heavens Why God why me? And I was I was taking back. I was like what? And so I'm sitting there crying like hormones are in full effect. And his sister Kim is like, what just happened? And she walked outside and he told her, and then I'm sitting here crying on

the couch like, I'm about to just like, if this is how he felt, then I'm gonna go back home and live with my dad, and I'll just do it there, and we can cope with it. But like, and then he walked inside, he was calm, and he's like, okay, this is what it is. It's okay, you know, he was just like, I wasn't expecting it this soon in our relationship, and so, you know, and he calmed down, but I was still like taken back by how he reacted

in those first few moments. Megan's pregnancy was in full swing. She was scared, but she also knew she had the love and support of her family, especially her father. As the idea of being a mother settled in Megan's brain, she went to the doctor for an ultrasound and soon found out some even more shocking news. They did the ultrasound, they're looking,

and there's like, oh, here you are, yes, baby. Here's the baby. And I'm like, are you sure there's not a second one in there? Because in the waiting room, I just felt like I was gonna have twins and everything was gonna be okay. Like, everything is gonna be okay and you're gonna have twins. And I was like, I really firmly believe that. And so when we went in there and they're like,

well, let me check around and they're like, oh, yep, here's baby number two. And in my head, I'm like, I told you, I told you. Megan and Rush were going to have twins, two identical baby girls. But as Megan's pregnancy progressed and fall turned to winter, Rush continued his strange behavior. He would be out all night or leave for days. He would insist that Megan allowed him to go through her phone. Things became strained in January, and Rush told Megan they weren't together anymore romantically. He no longer thought of her as his girlfriend, but he still wanted to continue living together.

Let's just try to be roommates and co-parent in the same home for our children. And it wasn't ideal. It wasn't what I wanted, but at the same time, I wanted my children to have a mother and a father that loved them and cared for them. And I also didn't want Rush to not experience everything that I was experiencing." Things started to deteriorate between the couple. Rush was clearly sleeping with other women behind her back. Megan was lonely. Rush was gone all the time. She was his roommate after all.

So she would casually message other men for a little confidence boost. No harm, no foul. When Rush found out that I was messaging other men, he lost it. He lost it. And so I called my dad and said, look, I'm moving out. I need your help. Megan's father, Jimmy, came over and helped his pregnant daughter, Packer bags, and go home.

My dad helping me move out that day and walking through Rush's house was apparently the biggest disrespect in the Jamaican culture to him that my dad was stomping around his house, taking his woman from him. The couple stayed apart for a while until surprisingly it was Russia's mother who convinced him to save the relationship. And that his mom was telling him basically what did you expect? You're not treating her the way she deserves to be treated. She's the mother of your children and you're you are treating her like shit. That Valentine's Day rush asked Megan out to dinner. He

apologized for his behavior and promised that he would be everything she needed in a partner. He even made their love official on Facebook. Aromantic. He puts me on Facebook and announces to the world that we're having twins and that we're together. He told me that the reason he blew up is because he didn't realize how much he loved me. And so that on February the 14th on Valentine's Day, that's why, you know, it's the day of love.

He wanted to show me how much he really loved me and wanted to be with me. So I moved in, I moved back in that night. Talking to myself, you know, oh, this is going to be different. This time is going to be different. Now he really loves me. Now he's aware of his feelings. Like, he's not running away from them. That's what I, in my immature mind. That's what I thought. Megan may have been immature, but she was also pregnant. She had a stake in his game, and she was willing to try and make it work. Rush gave her every reason to believe that he had changed. The couple set up a nursery for the babies, stocked up with years worth

of clothes, toys, and diapers, and they decided on baby names. Then, in our third trimester, Megan was put on immediate emergency bed rest. I am not supposed to be cleaning. I am not supposed to be cooking. I literally am told to stay on the couch, laid up or in the bed, laid up. I am not supposed to do anything. Their heart rates were decelling. Every time I would get up and start moving and then my blood pressure would elevate. The twins were stressed and I needed to relax. Megan took it easy from then on and went to the doctor every week for fetal monitoring.

During one visit when she was 33 weeks pregnant, she was told she had to deliver the babies. Like right now, Megan was rushed to the hospital for an emergency C-section. The babies would be seven weeks premature. We met on June 8th, 2014, and we brought our girls into this world on June 8th, 2015, exactly a year later. The birth of her twin girls was a whirlwind of happiness and joy, despite the chaos that the surgery had brought. Rush gets there, he changes into his gear that they give him at the hospital. We get into the room to do the C-section, and they're born.

They're born. There was Hayden, Rose Wilson, and there was Hayden, Reese Wilson. The couple called the girls by their middle names, Rose and Reese Wilson. The couple called the girls by their middle names Rose and Reese. Megan was in love the minute she met her beautiful babies. They were the loves of my life. I love them so much. And they were beautiful and tiny and they were in pretty close and they were so delicate, but their snuggles, they were the best. And they were in the NICU. Reese was in the NICU for 21 days. Rose was in the NICU

for 28 days, mainly just because of their size. They were so small, they had to be on a feeding tube, and basically we were just trying to get them to five pounds so that they could be in, they could be transported home. Reese got to go home first while Rose had to stay at the NICU. Then something amazing happened. In the NICU when Reese went home and Rose was there by herself, she was, she gained two and a half pounds in one week. And all the nurses were like,

she wanted to get home to her sister. She did not want to be away from her sister because we thought she was gonna be in the Nikki for another month. Twins are pretty incredible, huh? You hear those stories about couples in their 90s who've been married for 60 years and then the husband dies and the wife follows. But imagine the bond you'd have being in the womb with someone.

It's almost psychic in nature. Rose and Reese needed one another. They were all each other new. That is, until they were born and put on their mother's chest. Speaking of which, Megan was so in love with her daughters, she adored being a new mom. I loved it. I loved it.

I loved being with my daughters. And I loved. I, I would do different activities with them to build their eyes, sight, and the colors. And I would put on different TV shows. Like I would put on Planet Earth. And they would just watch it with all the colors and the sound and it was a very soothing show, the way the guy talks. I was doing all these different things. I was playing with them. I would rotate them through different sections of this giant living room.

I loved being a mom. Honestly, during that time, that was my true calling, was being a mom. The babies were growing healthier each day and developing little personalities. The first stuffed animals I bought them were from Carter's and it was the last two one, the last two girl toys. It was a beautiful fox in the beautiful owl and I was like, these are perfect for them. Little did I know how perfect they would be. Reese, she was our and she was just so just so calm all the time so so calm and just love to look around and see what was going on she loved to hear

her voice she was my calm baby Rose she was definitely like a fox she was feisty she wanted food when she wanted it. She wanted to watch the fan when she wanted it. She was very demanding, complete opposite of Reese. I mean, she was just, I loved all, she was spicy. And I loved it. I loved that they were so different. But yet, when you would put them in the crib, they would talk to each other all night. They would sit in the crib in the morning and just coup and talk to each other. They wouldn't cry for me to come get them. They would just sit there and talk to each other and hold hands. And I mean, they were doing that at five months old. Like,

they loved each other. Megan watched with awe and amazement as her twin girls developed a bond, just like she had with her own twin brother. It was a blessing and she felt lucky every day, despite the fact that things with rush were becoming increasingly worse. When he was angry, rush would call Megan fat. He'd insult her skills as a mother. Rush would tell Megan she was ruining his life. Everything would be better if she would just back off. So Megan would pull

away. Then Rush would complain that she was ignoring him, not tending to his needs. He was abandoning him. The turmoil was endless. Um, about how I'm not a good mom, and then it's, I'm not doing enough, but then it's, I'm doing too much. I'm doing too much, but then it goes back to, you're not doing enough. Nothing was ever perfect. Nothing was ever good enough for him." The fights escalated. Rush didn't just yell or slam doors. He started throwing

things at Megan. Little things like a glass photo frame. Another time he threw a coffee table across the room and the ceramic bowl on top smashed into a million pieces. He goes outside screaming after he did that, and I just went and got a broom and a dust pan in the trash can. I can't even tell you why I didn't react to that, but I just shut down. Russia's anger became more and more unpredictable as babies rose and rease grew. There were so many happy tender moments. Russia was a good father and he loved his baby girls, but his anger and mood swings were

too much to dodge unscathed. On Facebook, though, Rush would post pictures of the babies in Megan, professing his love for his family. I wanted to say a special thank you to my best friend, lover, and mother of my kids. Even though you went down two spots in my heart, being third is still a good spot. Can't wait to see what the future holds. This happy image that Rush boasted on social media was nothing close to the truth. Me and Rush were in our argument and I was sitting in the rocking chair pumping breast milk

and I was like, I can't deal with your attitude anymore. It's so overwhelming. I can't handle this anymore. Why can't you be like you were when we first met? And he sat down on the pedestal and pulled the rocking chair so fast and was screaming at me in my face saying, if I leave again, I'm going to regret it. He'll never take me back if I leave again.

If I leave, I'm destroying our family. And I was like, okay, okay, I'm not going to leave. Well then, he throws me on the bed. Like, I get up to like, go check on the girls because I hear them in their nursery, which was right across the halls from our bedroom. And he's like, where are you going? And I'm like, I'm gonna go check on the girls.

He's like, no, come here. He grabs my wrist, throws me on the bed, and then proceeds to rape me. And I didn't even fight, I just laid there. And he's trying to call my dad. So my dad could hear what he was doing to me. Megan was at her lowest point. She had been sexually humiliated by Rush, the man she was supposed

to be able to trust. She was mortified. I didn't speak to anybody for days, three days. On November 13th, I called my dad, and he was worried because I hadn't called Rush rush head called but it looked like I had called rush called him three times in a row and he thought there was an emergency and I told him why he had three missed calls and I told him why and What much was doing to me and my dad proceeded to cry and tell me what abuse is.

And he's like, Megan, if you don't leave now, it's just gonna get worse. I took a break and I just prayed to the Lord and asked him, sorry, just asked him what I needed to do to protect my girls and to protect me with all this new information that it didn't necessarily believe what my gut was telling me it was true. And so I called my dad and said dad I knew you'd get here in the next 30 minutes. I'm starting to pack our things we're gonna leave. Megan knew she had to go. She had the support and love of her family and friends. She would be okay. The girls would be safe. She just had to try to peacefully co-parent with Rush

the best she could. But for now, for today, she needed to get the hell out of the house before things got any worse. And Megan had no idea how bad things could really get. Megan Hyatt was a new mother of twin baby girls in an increasingly abusive relationship with her military boyfriend, Rush Wilson. After Rush had raped Megan, she decided that was enough, and she had to get out. After confirming her dad was on his way, Megan asked her friend Sarah to also join them for an extra set of hands. Rush wasn't at work at his naval base. If they all worked together quickly, they could have Megan and the girls out before he got home. And we put our car seats in our car and my person or car and their diaper bag in the car and

Sarah is trying to calm them down, but they need to eat. They haven't had they haven't had their food their bottle yet But I'm trying to get everything before rush come to home But rush is blowing up my phone telling me not to leave that he knows I'm leaving and to just stay until he gets Slayerson that we can have a conversation and to not make this decision on my own. Rush was texting Megan. Move into your mom's house. I'll come see the kids on the weekend if you want me to fuck off and fuck you.

I'll stay out until your dad and mommy come fucking get you. I need a woman. I'm sick of wiping a child." Rush kept calling Megan, but she didn't pick up. He kept calling. She ignored him. His messages became more frantic, more scared. It was as if he knew that she was ready to go.

Yeah, this relationship is not for me. I don't care if you leave. All I ask is that you leave a note saying you left and leave everything I bought. Take whatever you came with. Please don't take anything I paid for." That's when Megan finally texted back that she was leaving. She couldn't do it anymore. So, you're really gonna leave. You're really done. Megan, I'm calling you back. Please don't. Let me take the time to come home. I want a chance to talk. This is our life, Megan. Don't make this decision on your own. Megan, her father, Jimmy, and her best friend, Sarah, kept packing and getting baby rows and baby rees ready to go. Then they heard something at the door.

And he walks in and he's in his dress, he's in his cacky top and his black pants with his black Chinese shoes that like just click on the floor. And he takes off his cacky top and the kitchen. And he's like it, he puts his phone down there. It tells my dad, hey, Jimmy, do you mind if you go outside so me and Megan can have a conversation? And I say, yeah, the girls need to eat anyway, so I'll make their bottles real quick. I made their bottles and we sat down in the living room that was in the front of the house and we sat there. And he proceeded

to ask me a series of questions. Are you for real? Do you remember what I told you that if you left the end you would be ruining our family and I would never give you another chance? Are you sure you want to do this? So the truck is packed, you're really going. And I said yes. Rush stood up immediately. His face turned to stone. So I have rose in one arm and re-signed the other arm. He goes and he shuts the front door.

And it has to the closet that has the AR-15 in it. He looked at me. And he said, I'm going to show you what over his bitch. I'm going to show you. I'm going to kill your dad and you're going to watch. I'm going to take everything from you and I'm screaming, Dad run, Dad run, don't come in, don't come in. Please run. Call 911 and what does any dad do? He ran through that door.

He ran through that door and rushed riddled him with bullets. And my dad kept getting up and getting up and getting up and I'm like, why won't he just stay down? Why does he keep getting up? And I get from one couch to the next and my dad's in the doorway and that's where the bullets are and I'm trying to figure out how to get the girls out. And then I look at Roshan, he looks at me,

and he points the gun at me and he shoots me once in the summit. And I touch my stomach and I get feel blood rushing down my body and I look at him and I'm like, he's just fucking shot me. And then he rattled me with bullets. Rush shot Megan again and again and again. Then when he was done inflicting the bullets on the mother of his babies, he turned the gun towards his five month old daughters. The girls were shot in the middle on the back of their head. She didn't own purpose.

They had to wear pannets out there funeral because the bullet holes in the back of their head. Reese laid on the couch, her little arms and legs stretching and squiggling, unaware of the violence going on around her. Rush rolled her over and shot her execution style, blowing his daughter's fragile skull wide open. Her brains exploded onto her shoulders and the couch cushions. As Megan screamed in agony watching her baby girl die, rushed at the same to baby Rose while she was clutched in her mother's arms. Then he turned the gun back to Megan. He shoots me in the legs so I fall down and I'm just being screamed out, plain dead, plain dead, plain dead. And I just lay there.

And I have one of my daughters in my arm, lifeless. And I have one of my daughters on the couch that fill in the couch when I fell back, lifeless. My dad is screaming an agony. And then Rush goes outside and shoots off the gun. So I thought he killed Sarah too. But Rush had not killed Sarah. Sarah had fled down the street with her cell phone and called 911, as she ran away from the distant sound of Rush's AR-15. I think it's a true gunshot. You mean Chris? Oh, I heard you left me with a gun. I'm sorry, I'm trying to find the address.

What did they do with it, ma'am? As Sarah frantically tried to find the address in her phone, Megan was bleeding to death in her living room. Next to her dead baby daughters and her dying father. As she laid on the ground, clinging to life, rush walked back inside. And then proceeds to come inside, stand over me and commit suicide. In one final act of unspeakable violence, rush stood over the woman, he claimed the love, put the gun to his chin and pulled the trigger. He blew his head off and fell backwards towards the couch that was spattered with his baby's

blood and membranes. Just try and put yourself in Megan's position for a minute. Really think hard about this. Your five-month-old baby girls have just been murdered in front of you by their father. Then he shoots you, and stands over you, and blows his head off. Your father is down the hallway. You can hear him trying to stay alive. You can hear him gasping, but you can't move.

When I know rushes that I tell my dad how sorry I am, how I didn't know this was gonna happen and how sorry I am. And he asked me where the girls are and I told him they were dead. And my dad told me that he wasn't gonna make it. Now, he was gonna watch over them. Then he was gonna watch over them. And I sat up and I was shot in the wrist so I couldn't get up. And my leg was riddled and in pieces and I didn't really know how I was going to get to a phone. But I heard Russia's phone ringing in the kitchen. And I knew that was too far. My phone was in Sarah's car, and there's no way

I'm making it outside. And then I saw my dad's phone. So I left my leg to as much forward as I can and I but scoot. I but scoot to my dad's phone. And I call 911. Actually, no, we're on watch. I have to play my shot in the meantime. My dad, and I must make some.

He did what, man? He shot me. Where's he at now, man? He shot himself. He shot himself too. I think I'm trying to find the fun of the unit. My God, I was seeing you being out and being out and I think I've been sitting out and watching my kids work out. He shot everybody in the house? Yes. How many people, ma'am? I don't know. I can't tell.

I'm already sitting. I'm already sitting. And then I try to lay on my dad to create pressures. So he's not bleeding out anymore. But every time I tried to lean on him, he was screaming agony. And then the police showed up and my dad took his last breath. Listen to the next clip carefully. When the police officer enters the home, he's so shocked and terrified by the carnage. He yells to everyone to stay back.

Now? I'm not here to make a promise, but I'm here to make a promise, or everybody's dead. Who runs so well, oh, she's right. We have the crime scene photos from this day, and believe me, you do not want to see them. I could barely do it, in fact. I think I saw one photo and closed the window immediately. Now imagine what Megan saw, what Megan knows, and what she will never forget for the rest of her life. Rush wanted to show her the definition of the word over.

He wanted to keep her suffering until her dying breath would a disgusting, inhumane thing to do to another person. And then the EMTs loaded me on this yellow tarp, put me in the ambulance and took me away. And that was just, I was awake every single second until they put me out with anesthesia. Megan was put under, so doctors could tend to her various wounds. She underwent five surgeries. Megan bled out three times on the operating table. She had lost an eye in the shooting.

Her leg was shattered. It would be a miracle if she ever walked again. But none of that mattered because her father was dead and her baby girls were dead. In the LDS, the Latter-day Saint Religion, we believe, and priesthood blessings, which is basically where you pray upon someone and you listen to the spirit and you pray upon them and you and when I when I woke up I asked if I had missed my dad's funeral and they said now that they weren't waiting for me to wake up and I asked if if I would miss my daughter's funeral. And they said, no, we were waiting for you to wake up. And then I looked at my mom and I was like, I need the bishop to come give me a blessing. I need to know. If what I saw was real. I just can't believe it. I

need the bishop to come and pray upon me. So I know what to do from here on. The funeral for baby Rose, baby Reese, and Jimmy Hyatt happened a few weeks later. And then November 23rd is the funeral day, and we bury the girls and my dad and the girls are next to my dad. And they were buried in little bonnets because of the bullet holes and they had the most beautiful fishup dresses and I held their hands which is kind of symbolic because when they were in the NICU I couldn't hold them for three days and Reese for five days. So I welcomed them into this world by holding their hands and holding their hands was how I showed them love at first

and just and then as I said goodbye to them I held their hands so I welcomed them into this world. My holding their hands and I I let them know I'm a child, I was going to miss them while I was here on earth. Anyone that has had a very a child, when you can't hold them anymore, and for me I was going back from recent rows. I was going back and forth holding their hands and then I had to have in this moment I'd have this moment with myself where I had to be like, you know what? I Can't stay here forever So I need to let go of their hands and they need to let them go, but I know that God has my back

And I know that they're fine and I know that they're fine and I know that they're safe. And I know that they're with Heavenly Father. And I know my dad is watching over them in heaven. I know these things. And this is just their physical body. And one day, one day I'll see them again. But for now, I have to say goodbye to their bodies. And I think that was the hardest thing out in this whole situation was having to say goodbye to their bodies. And I think that was the hardest thing out in this whole situation was having to say goodbye to them. Since Rush killed himself after committing the murders,

there wasn't much of an investigation. But they did search the house and document the crime scene. When the detectives went through, when the detectives went through the house, and they went through everything, they asked, if I knew about this weapon or that weapon or this weapon or that weapon, and that they were hidden all over the house, from machetes, to hunting knives, to other guns, all kinds of weapons hidden. There were so many weapons they were taken back. Why was this weapon taped to the couch?

Who really lives in this much fear? Paranoid or not, what Rush did was absolutely. Sorry. Demonic. It was unexplainable. He wanted to inflict as much pain on Megan as he possibly could. Was he always this evil and he was just trying to hide it and then it just escaped all at once. I've wrestled with the fact that he was bipolar and unmedicated.

I found that out later on. And I honestly, I think I know that wherever he is now, that he is immensely regretful of the that he did. And nothing will ever take away the fact that he murdered three people. And nothing, nothing in my head will ever explain. If you can understand why he did what he did, then you have some issues because I cannot understand why anyone would take a life of a little child, let alone two, five-month-olds. Not surprisingly, Rush had a history with the law, and it wasn't just traffic violations. with the law, and it wasn't just traffic violations. In 2013, Rush strangled and beat his ex-girlfriend after she refused to have sex with him before work. When she tried to call the police, he broke her phone

and tore off her clothes. She ran outside with her eight-year-old daughter and got help from a neighbor. They reported the incident and Rush was arrested for domestic battery. He was forced to take domestic violence awareness training courses through the US Navy. A lot of good that did. In January of 2014, six months before Rush met Megan on plenty of fish, another relationship ended in violence. A fight between Rush and an estranged girlfriend of his escalated to a physical fight.

She carried a small gun for protection, and when he lunged at her, she shot him in the groin. She was looking at very serious assault charges and jail time, until the prosecution dove into Russia's criminal history. Russia's ex-wife, the one whose belongings Megan had to dispose of before she moved in, was still in hiding. She wouldn't speak with the media even after Rush was declared dead. But Megan didn't know any of this. Of course, how would she? She was 20 years old when she met Rush. Practically, a teenager. The damage that Rush did is something that I have to fight with internally, because I have to be honest to myself, but I also can't let myself get so poor miserable

Megan. I have three choices when I woke up at the hospital. And as I walked through this earth, one was commit suicide. The stats went up here that has lost a child tragically. I think it's over 75% in the first five years. So I could have committed suicide and no one would have believed me. The second option was poor, pitiful, Megan. Woe is me, Megan. The rest of my life just wanting a pity party, not doing anything to bite of my life, not doing anything, just living life until I die

as miserable and no one would have blamed me. But then the third option was to take our story and use it to spread domestic violence awareness. Take our story and make sure that another mother doesn't have to go through what I went through and what my mother went through. Russia's murderous, cowardly act of filiside, patricide, and domestic violence didn't just affect the family he tore apart. His actions made unforgettable waves

to many who witnessed what happened. One of the police officers, friends with most of the people, most of their community, and the police officers that were there. One retired. He was like, I'm done. I can't see anything else. I'm retired the next week. One of the police officers will never take a house call ever again. They literally sit

in the office. There's a firefighter or a rescuer. Now has such severe PTSD that he cannot function. There's another rescuer who actually lives one street over from the house where everything happened and his wife who was there was the newborn baby. And they can't walk down that street anymore. And I remember seeing them walk down that street with their stroller and their children and they can't even walk down that street with their stroller and their children. And they can't even walk down that street anymore. My brother. My brother doesn't have his best friend. He doesn't.

And he needed my dad. And he doesn't have that. My brother lives with me and my now husband. He needed my dad. And she doesn't have that. My brother lives with me and my now husband. And it's very hard to watch him knowing why he is the way he is. And he just... He hates the world. Megan and her brother miss their father every single day. Megan can't help but wonder how life could have been different as she known who Rush really

was. But she couldn't have stopped this. Megan was the last and long line of Russia's female targets. That's the thing with domestic abusers is you never know when their breaking point is. Is it with you? Is it after? What is it?

We have to be diligent and actually know who we're with to protect ourselves. If you knew that all you had at you was go look up their records and you can do it for free from the county's records, and that you could save yourself so much turmoil on heartache and possibly save your life if he's a domestic violence abuser, wouldn't you want to?

Megan attributes her recovery to her faith. She knows God kept her alive for a reason. Not everybody has faith, not everybody believes in God, but that's how I'm surviving is my faith. That's how I get through every single day is my faith. Where I am now I get through every single day is my faith. Where I am now versus where I was seven years ago, November is seven years. I would have first graders. My kids would be in first grade. They would be in ballet and gymnastics and they would have a whole life. That was stolen from them.

Rush stole so many things that day. He stole Megan's father from her family. He stole his baby daughters' lives. He played God and wanted to shake the world into darkness. But faith, family, therapy, and love have gotten Megan to where she is today. She has left Florida for Texas. She's in school full-time and works in the healthcare field. She hopes to one day have children again after her final round of surgeries.

With the lovely man she's now married to. He is the best thing that ever happened to me. When he came into my life, I was so depressed and so miserable and I wasn't showering. The joke is I loved you when you were smelly. So he, he has showed me so much love and care, and I never thought I'd ever experience. I didn't even think it was real. So who I thought was my Prince Charming and Rush, who ruined my idea of a relationship, my husband is my friend charming. Rush changed Megan's life forever, but it wasn't the way he intended.

I was awake every single second until they put me out with anesthesia in the trauma room. And I knew I was gonna live and I knew now that I had a purpose. And that purpose was to share our stories so that women understand how bad it can get and how severe domestic violence is. And you don't have to be physically hit. I was never physically hit. I had things thrown at me, but actually his hands coming the tone down with my body to physically hit me that never happened.

But he tried to kill me and he killed my family and he wanted to take everything from me and make me watch. So for the past seven years I have been in therapy, I have come up with the right amount of anxiety and depression modes. I'm still having leg surgeries to this day, but I know I have a purpose, and I know I am here. It's taken years of mental anguish and therapeutic work, but Megan says she's finally at a place where she can forgive Rush for all that he did. Megan has made it her life's work to survive and tell her family story. She wants the memory of her daughters and her father to live on. She survived that day to stand as a message to other women suffering like she was. And that message I bring to you today full of good people who want to help you. Reach out to them. Do it today. I forgive you and I love you as a child of God.

as a child of God. And I know, I know that, I know that he's sad about the decision he made, but I forgive you. The Thank you for joining us once again. If you like this show, we have something called PLUS. You can find it at Sword and Skill dot com slash PLUS. Please subscribe if you can. Until next time, stay safe. Hi, my name is Jack Felotes. The cafeteria is welcoming and I choose this into opposite 230 and fucking mass looking.

Do you see this? The Earth's the Award, possible. And by the way, you ruined all other powercasts, one, you could do this is the only one that has everything. So, thank you for your work. Love you, appreciate you, I've been listening to it for years now. See you guys, bye. you you