Sword and Scale - Episode 299

Episode Date: June 9, 2025

Ashley Bocanegra told everyone the attack was random, but deep down, she knew it wasn’t. Hours later, she was dead, and her attackers were on the hook for murder. What no one realized was that Ashley had been hiding a secret, and it was one she was determined to take to her grave.

Sword and scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. I will murder you! I will murder you! I will murder you! I will fucking murder you! Why do we play this dumb music at the beginning of... a show about murder? I don't know, Karen. Why do you listen to murder for entertainment? It's a contradiction, isn't it? This is episode 299 of Sword and Scale.

You know the drill. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it, but I'm sorry. It was a busy August evening at a hospital in Georgia. Julian Reyes was sitting in a waiting room in his gray sweatsuit. His fiancee, 30-year Boca Negra had suddenly died. Detectives had just arrived at the hospital and sat down across from Julian. We can't find a people responsible. Please, please. Yeah. If you can... Oh, man. I know this is really difficult right now. It doesn't even seem real. It's like, oh my god, every day, it's just a normal day.

It doesn't even seem real. Of course, it didn't seem real. When Julian left the house that morning, his fiance was in good spirits. Ashley was an active, thriving, working mom of their seven-year-old son. Now she's dead. A few hours earlier, Ashley had called Julian for help, telling him that she had got jumped. I just got jumped. I can't breathe. All right, I'm on my way. I let my job know. I left. I came home.

She's on the bed just like gasping for air. And when she called you on the phone, did she tell you who did this to her? She told me two females. She recognized them? No. Did she describe them? During her labored breaths, Ashley described the woman who jumped her. She was shaken up, exhausted, and kind of embarrassed.

She had been beaten up very badly, barely able to defend herself against two other women. Still, she swore she didn't know who they were. Not a clue. When you got home, did it appear that maybe she had cleaned her wounds up or anything like that? Take a shower? No. Not a clue. I said, where are you? I'm in here, sleeping in the bedroom. I turned the light, she took off, cloth off. She was completely naked on the bed. Ashley looked awful. Her skin was raw and red in places where she'd been hit. Her hair was tangled and matted, and one side of her face was scraped,

leaving angry marks that told the story of what she'd been through. Ashley tried to sit up and talk to Julian, see it. She said, I think I'm throwing up blood. I get a dress, leave, and go straight to the foresight. They do what they do. They scan her oxygen, IV, and all your medicine. Whatever they can do to make her feel better. And then the doctor told me that she was like, if it was cancer, they had this whole lot of blood

all over her kidney. And that's when they decided to fly her out here. When Ashley arrived at the hospital, she had severe internal bleeding. She couldn't breathe and was put on a ventilator. When the doctors discovered all the blood was pooling around her kidneys, they decided to airlift her to another hospital for surgery.

She died en route. She was banged up. She was banged up. What got her was, because she was homey, she had a gun bit on her cheek. She was like, she bit me on my cheek, she bit me in my arm. They kicked me in my ribs while the big, heavy-set woman

was on top of her. The other one was kicking her in her rib cage. OK. And obviously, that's the coolest thing. You know, and she said they were using any weapons. She didn't say anything about weapons. They were fighting. She said it happened so fast that she didn't have a chance to do anything.

They just ganged up on her. Before she died, Ashley had been able to describe the woman who attacked her as well as some of the beating. It was all melting into fragments as she lay dying on the hospital stretcher. Now Julian was left to try to make sense of it all. And I just don't know why. I just don't know why. You know, because we only been back in Georgia.

We recently just moved back. Well, less than a year ago. When was it? We moved back in December a year ago. When was it? We moved back in December of 2021. Okay. After my mom passed, my mom passed in November, right before Thanksgiving, we moved back in December to be close to family. Eight months later, nine months later, this happened.

And it's like, there's no reason. Like, I don't even get it you know why would anybody want to do that you know it's like random she was going out to get me a birthday cake today my fucking birthday she's gonna give me a birthday cake. Yes it was Julian's birthday and instead of enjoying a delicious cake with frosting and candles and maybe a birthday card and some balloons Maybe a couple pictures with the fiance and the Sun. Nah, nah, nah, nah. Now he's sitting in a hospital waiting room Talking with a detective about Ashley's murder Now that's a twist

Ashley and Julian were both from New York City. The projects, to be exact. They'd met in middle school. We've been together 10 years. We've known each other since fucking 8th grade. Though they met in school, Julian and Ashley didn't start dating until years later, when they reconnected. So not only was it Julian's birthday, but today also marked 10 years since their first date. The timing couldn't be any more cruel. A milestone meant for celebration was now twisted into a gut-wrenching loss.

Julian and Ashley had grown up together, but they'd always dreamed of leaving New York City. Julian's family started trickling down to Georgia, and they followed. That same year, their son was conceived. But the couple had gone back and forth between New York and Georgia for about a decade, never really able to cut ties with the Big Apple. As crime rates rose and the constant chaos of New York seemed unavoidable, they said goodbye to the North and called Georgia their home. We were both New Yorkers, but we always wanted to eventually go back. So we decided to go back last year, we moved in January of 2021. Being back and going back to where you know to visit her mom, it was just like we forgot what we left. We don't need this shit. Like it's just so much and you

seem to lose all these random shootings and beatings and stabbings and... They moved to escape the violence of New York, but mostly they wanted a better life for their son. That's what our world revolves around. So when my mom passed away, we decided, you know, we're leaving this shit, we're going back to Georgia, where we don't have to deal with this nonsense. And then we come back to Georgia and deal with the same shit that we tried to leave. The irony was chilling.

This young couple raised in the unforgiving sprawl of New York City's projects had chased a dream of a better life in the suburbs of Georgia. But it was as if the darkness they left behind had tracked them down. Kind of like, uh, what's that movie? Final Destination. The Final Destination franchise is what I'm thinking of. It's as if when death comes you have to hurry up and set the placemats out because they ain't leaving. I can't save anywhere, you know? But I try to do the best I can to give my family the best that I can, you know?

Give them the best chance possible and it's like a new fucking world, you know? Like I said, we're gonna do everything we can to find these people. Make sure they pay for what they did to you and your family. Though Julian supported the family on his income, Ashley had taken a job at Florin Decor to bring a little extra money in and give her some independence outside of her role

in the home. She'd been promoted to night manager and was working the overnight shifts, which had put a strain on the couple. I started with Essex. She gets out at 5.30. I start work at six. She gets out at 5.30. She's right next door. So as soon as she gets home, I go.

You know, and that's just how it's always been, you know? The couple started bickering. Julian supported her desire to work, but kept reminding her that they didn't need the money. Plus, she didn't like working overnight shifts. It just seemed unsafe. Ashley was adamant about keeping her job and making time for one another became really hard. There's only so many hours in the day, you know?

They'd been fighting for the last week. It was so petty. And it was like, the last few days we were fighting about something that didn't matter, and now you're not even here. And it's like, I could have spent the last few days rekindling and saying I'm sorry, you know, I'm sorry for starting some bullshit, you know. And now, you know, I can't do anything. Julian sat there baffled as to how this happened to his wife. She even told the nurses.

It came out of the blue. Like, I can't even tell you why, you know? I have no clue. You know, I go to work every day. All I do is work and come home. You know, and that's all I do. So if I had any slight idea of what could have caused this, I would definitely say something. But it's like, I don't even's like I don't even know.

I don't even know. Like I said, we've only been back in Georgia nine months, and we don't do anything. We literally work and go home every day. This attack did not feel random. Ashley was not robbed. In fact, she didn't even have her purse on her. Two women had brutally beaten her, working together to hold her down, kick her, punch her, bite her, and scratch her.

They left her gasping for air and bleeding from the head. It was savage, like an animal. But Ashley swore she didn't know them, and Julian believed her. Julian believed a lot of things. To detectives, it felt like there was more to the story. Maybe, just maybe, Ashley had taken a dangerous secret to her grave. In the quiet city of Buford, Georgia, Ashley Bocanegra's life ended violently. She told everyone she was ambushed by two strangers.

It happened in the middle of the afternoon as Ashley walked to pick up a birthday cake for her fiancee Julian. Out of nowhere, two girls sprang out of the bushes outside her apartment complex and pounced. In broad daylight, they beat her mercilessly, leaving her gasping for air. Barely holding herself together Ashley stumbled back to her apartment and called Julian for help. At the hospital things only got worse. Her breathing faltered, her lungs started to collapse and her body started to shut down. Slowly, piece by piece, it gave out. By the end of the day, Ashley was gone. She was only 30 years old. It was her fiance's birthday and the 10-year

anniversary of their first date. Now, Julian was left heartbroken and puzzled as to why this happened. The more he talked with detectives, the more he questioned what Ashley had told him before she died. there's nobody in front. There's really nobody ever walking around. There's nobody ever really walking around. Everybody's just getting in their car and leaving. Julian and Ashley had a ring camera on their front door, so their daily movements were tracked. The apartment complex they lived in was one of those cookie-cutter apartment communities

with a gym, a pool, a little park, and plenty of green space between the buildings. People keep to themselves, shuffling to and from the parking lot to their own suites after work. Ashley had described her attackers as a young Hispanic female and a heavy set black woman. That was all she knew. With that description, I can't even put a face to it. I don't even have a clue.

I don't know if they lived there. I don't know if they just happened to stumble in there. I don't know if there was an actual reason for picking her. I don't know. The way she's explaining and what all the injuries you observed it seems personal. So maybe it was something very little to her, little to you like you're overseeing and then go back to it's like oh like for example with with my girl if some girl like smiles at me right and she's like oh what was that about right she you know yeah she gets extremely jealous about it whatever do you think of any situation

where like maybe some guy was being friendly she just was being friendly back just to be friendly I didn't know that guy had like a girlfriend and then this girl is now retaliating Julian shook his head no then after a long pause he admitted something remember how he said they'd been fighting earlier that week? What he hadn't mentioned was why. It all started with a suspicion that he could not shake. A suspicion that Ashley may have been cheating. It's like, I get these little moments where any little thing you do will make me believe that you cheated. Did you just have like a feeling that she was doing that or did something? No, I had no type of proof. It was just...

Do you guys have each other's passcodes, each other's phones? Um, she doesn't have mine. Okay, but you have hers? I know hers. You never found anything on her? I know her. I don't look. OK. You know, I...

Boundaries, you know what I mean? I don't care if you give me your code. I don't look. Any, like, weird behavior like me with a ring camera? You've noticed her going in and out of the house? OK. No, normal. Julian said that jealousy had been an issue for both of them over the years.

Was it just you guys just talking or was there actually... No, we never really argued. No, I mean like the cheating, was it just saying it just because of just jealousy or did something actually happen? Well, previously in our earlier years, we've been together 10 years. Okay. In our earlier years, I did fuck up and cheat. In New York?

In New York. Okay. Nothing? Nothing here. Okay. Just was in New York. Um, I listened that day, you know, she always had her doubts about me. Gotcha.

Maybe Julian had his suspicions due to his own guilt about his own past. Cheaters often accuse their spouses of cheating. But the bottom line was that he had no proof. Ashley never went anywhere without him. It seemed logistically impossible for her to manage an affair. All she did was take care of their son and go to work. The ring camera proved it. You know, surprisingly, I've been on Georgia, you know, almost eight years total. I don't know anybody. So these descriptions that she gave you, they're not nothing familiar.

The police were getting nowhere. There was no shady business on Julian's end that could have provoked this deadly midday attack. Keep in mind Ashley died late in the evening but she'd been attacked around 1 p.m. in the afternoon. Around that time a 911 call came in from Ashley's apartment complex. Hi, I've worked here at the apartment complex and there was two girls fighting and she's really bloody. I can see the blood from where I'm at. They're fighting in the apartment complex in the parking lot.

I mean, on the street. Okay. What is the address of 2 Cross 3? The woman who called 911 worked at the leasing office in the apartment complex and had seen the fight on her way to work. And you said one of them is bleeding? Yeah, I can see her forehead from down here is bleeding. The girl had her on the ground. way to work. They're arguing right now. They stopped fighting, but they're arguing now. The leasing manager watched from her car down the road as Ashley's attackers screamed at her while she was on the ground.

Ashley hugged her knees to her chest, flipped back her curly mess of hair, and suddenly sprung up to her feet. I think they might be together because the girl who got beat up, there's a foul on them. Ashley was following her attackers. The leasing manager watched intently, trying to piece together exactly what was happening. As she trailed the two women, her unease set in as to where this strange pursuit might end. I thought they were tight from where they were. They started walking towards me, so I'm driving away.

Okay, that's fine. But I'm trying to see what building they go to. They're going to building 300, the high end of 300. According to the leasing manager, one witness to the fight, Ashley, had followed the girls who attacked her into the 300 building. But that is not where Ashley and Julian lived. In fact, at the hospital, the nurse who tended to Ashley had also reported the assault to the police. When the cops called to talk to Ashley before she died, the cops were able to get her side of the story.

So what happened? Well, I, because right now it's my fiance's birthday, So what happened? Ashley said the women called out, she matches the description before they attacked her. She said she was blindsided, yet she was adamant? You just wanted to go about your way? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, pretty much. Ashley's refusal to press charges just didn't add up. This was an unprovoked attack, according to her. Her hesitation made no sense. Something about the situation just felt off. The police didn't have to look very far to find Ashley's attackers. The witness who called 911 led them straight to a building in the same complex where

Ashley lived. Apparently her attackers were her neighbors. Two officers knocked on the door and a young man answered. We just want to make sure everybody's good, so that's why we're here. That's fine, but we'd rather y'all come out here. Can they come out? The females that are in there? Yeah. At this point, all that officers knew was that a fight between three women had been

reported. They had no clue that Ashley had been sent to the hospital. They just needed to get details about this assault. The young man at the door stepped aside and a heavyset black woman walked to the open breezeway. She was breathless and sweaty wearing a white t-shirt and yoga pants. This girl she came to my house, she's a sleeper, my fiance. She works over there, she's his manager and she keeps on forcing him to have sex with her. and yoga pants. Oh, just me. I'm the only one that fought. Just me. The girl, she left. Hey, since when? She left. The woman who fought Ashley was 27-year-old Antoinetta Stevens. Though she was shaking with adrenaline, she claimed that Ashley had confronted her at her front door.

That means there was no street brawl, no random attack. Then they fought Apparently Ashley had been sleeping with Antonetta's fiancee Daniel Who was the one who answered the door? Antonetta claimed that Ashley was Daniel's boss at floor and decor and she had been forcing him to have sex with her How about that? Antoinetta let officers inside. In the living room, Danielle and Antoinetta's toddler was watching TV. Antoinetta's sister-in-law, Janine Gonzalez, was there too. She admitted that she had also been a witness to the fight. Yes, my dad's here. I've known him for five years. We moved here together from up north.

He's worked, he works a floor and decor. He's been sleeping with his manager. And that's who was here? Yes. And I've been feeling it for some time now. Yesterday I'm walking to Quick Trip. I see them walking together. And you're a woman, you know our intuition. I know that's the girl. I've seen her, we argued yesterday. He broke it up, it was fine. According to Antonetta, she had caught her fiance, Daniel, walking to the corner store with Ashley. This was all the confirmation she needed to secure her feeling that Daniel

had been sleeping with Ashley. This morning now, she's calling, calling, text him, text him, text him, saying that she's gonna be coming here. I waited for her, and's calling, calling, texting, texting, texting, saying that she's going to be coming here. I waited for her and then I fought her because I'm just enraged. I'm very heartbroken. You see, I started packing my stuff yesterday.

Nothing was even in bags. I'm just mentally out of it right now because this is a person that I wanted to grow old with. This is a person I wanted to share my life with and I feel dirty. I feel disgusting. I feel heartbroken and I feel understandable. Antoinetta was fired up, clearly. She alleged that Ashley had shown up at her front door

asking for a fight. So they duked it out. Then Ashley left. But I'm okay right now. I'm not like gonna be going out and hitting anybody. I'm not a mess of society. I'm just very heartbroken. That's because not a lot has been doing.

We just had to make sure everybody was good because we got a call. The adrenaline was raging through Antonetta, and she couldn't stop talking. She's actually cheating on her family, too. Go figure. You know, the husband and she's... Did she drive all five of them?

No, she walked. I don't know if she has her own car, but, you know, I don't know. I hope her husband finds the hell out because why would I have to be the only one in shambles in my life? What was her name? I have no idea.

You don't know her name? I really don't. I'm assuming he's not going to tell me her name. Probably not because he probably wouldn't want me to find out. How old is she? 30. 30? What does she look like?

Hispanic female. Yeah. Black hair. We're kind of like highlights, clearly. What color highlights? Messed up teeth. Really big jaw. Of course, the man who this fight had erupted over, Daniel, you know, the prize, he just

sat there quietly while his angry fiancé rattled off catty remarks about his mistress. Just sitting there like a grown baby. It's amazing. But I'm not going over there. Just to let you guys know, I'm not going to go on a manhunt looking for her. I don't care. I already handled my business. Yeah, like I said, it's not considered domestic violence.

Y'all went at it together. So it would be if you want to prosecute, she wants to prosecute, then technically both of y'all would go to jail. So. domestic violence, y'all went at it together. So it would be if you want to prosecute, she wants to prosecute, then technically both of y'all will go to jail. So if you're not wanting to worry about it, then we're gonna go our separate ways and not worry about it. Thanks, appreciate it. Are you want anything done to her? Nope, nope. I think she's got enough, you know.

Like Ashley, Antonetta was firm. She did not want to press charges. This was street justice. She didn't need no cops, you know? Her claim that Ashley had shown up at her door only deepened the confusion, and none of it added up. Buried within the strategic white lies of both Ashley and Antoinetta's stories was a truth neither woman seemed to tell you to quit your job and then you have to work with this woman and I have to stay here?

I work from home. I'm in this house 24-7. I cook, clean work, that's all I do all day. It's probably why I lost my mind like that. Internetta worked from home while Daniel did overnights at Florin Decor with Ashley. Their affair grew in the shadows of the home renovation depot, hidden under stacks of tile and carpet swatches. Through long nights stocking shelves, Daniel and Ashley fell hard for one another. Their shifts became

an escape, a stolen chance to leave their other lives behind and be together in secret. It was kind of the perfect affair. No seedy hotel meetups were required. All sex was maintained at work. But once Antonetta figured out what was happening, the party was over. Now, she was livid and threatening to leave. So, I don't really know, but I think I want to leave though. So, I'm in the process. I just don't know where to go.

Like, as I did say, I'm from up north. I don't really have family though, so I'm in the process. I just don't know where to go. Like, as I did say, I'm from up north. I don't really have family out here, you know? So, hold all my eggs in one basket just for this to happen. I want you guys to take me for a weekend. I really need a break from this, in this house, please. Nah, well, be careful what you wish for. There you go. Because I feel worried. Seriously,

be careful what you wish for. As officers prepared to leave, Antonetta joked that she wished that they could take her away for the weekend. Well, they can. She had no idea at that very moment Ashley was being admitted to the hospital, and by the time the night was over, she wouldn't be leaving on her own two feet. She'd be leaving in a body bag. Text between Daniel and Ashley from the morning of the attack showed that they'd been swooning over each other. They were falling in love.

Since I've met you, you've made everything so much better and bearable. I don't know how to explain it. Wow. Ashley, you really make it hard not to want you or keep falling for you." "...I can tell you how I feel and not worry about your reaction. I feel secure around you. I don't know why, but I just do." "...Just know it's gonna be like that. Be yourself, Ashley. I want Ashley, not someone else." Be yourself Ashley. I want Ashley not someone else The conversation ended up with Ashley telling Daniel to get some rest He signed off saying he was about to have a nap

An hour later. He started texting Ashley again Where you at? I need to see you LOL, I'm in bed. I want you here so bad Meet me, please I'm going through it. I got kicked out. Are you serious? Let me put on something real quick. Alright, I'm outside. Okay, about to come out now. Not only did Ashley and Daniel work together at Florne Decor, but they lived in the same apartment complex.

Ashley's husband Julian was at work when she allegedly left to get his birthday cake. But really she was rushing out to meet Daniel because he had texted her saying that Antoinetta had just kicked his cheating ass out of the house. Ashley put on her green leggings and crocs, as you would, and left the house with only her iPhone. The ring camera on her front door was the only witness to her leaving. She walked around looking for Daniel, texting him as she searched. He said he was on his way, that Antonetta was furiously packing, that she was crazy. Ashley texted back how sorry she was as she

crossed the road towards their meeting spot. And that's when it happened. Antonetta and her sister-in-law, 17-year-old Janine, came storming onto the street. Janine had her phone recording, the only truthful witness to the fight. Look at her, right there, right there. Oh, that's my babe. That was me. You know who it was. That's who it is, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Antonetta sprang into action. Perhaps that's a bit hyperbolic. She was a very big girl. Regardless, she tackled Ashley to the ground. She grabbed fistfuls of her hair, smashed her head into the pavement, and punched her repeatedly. Her sister-in-law, 17-year-old Janine, egged her on like a deranged cheerleader. Let's not pretend that world star hip-hop was not a cultural phenomenon. This is what we do for savages. For savages.

You're gonna get fucked up. Get the fuck off my hair bitch. Get the fuck off my hair bitch. Get off my hair. Ashley's small body was powerless against Antonetta. After all, she was twice her size. Consumed by rage

and jealousy, Antonetta straddled her, fists crashing down as she unleashed everything she had on Ashley. He said I could fuck you up. Yep, this is what we do. If I get mad and he knows I'm leaving, he's so sad. He says, I want you to fuck her up. That's what I'm doing, fucking you up. All right. You ready to die over dick? Real crazy. You ready to die over dick?

Yep, you are. At this very moment in the video, the leasing manager drove by. She stopped when she saw Antonetta on top of Ashley, using handfuls of her curly hair to keep her skull pinned to the pavement. Right, you his manager? I'm getting you fired, bitch.

That's bias. That's a conflict of interest. I'm showing this to the job. You're fucking my nigga while he's on the clock? Fucking my nigga going there trying to ruin his family, bitch, he has a whole son. You're mad for him? Okay.

Ashley was losing strength. She put up a fight, but now her breathing was slowing as Antonetta sat on top of her stomach, crushing her and banging her head. Then Antonetta pushed herself up and started whipping Ashley across the pavement like a ragdoll. I will murder you! I will murder you! I will murder you. I will murder you. I will fucking murder you. Antonetta and Ashley's rail-thin body twisted over itself like a wire hanger bent beyond recognition. She shook her, punched her, and screamed in her ear. Stop. You're so liking my analysis, hon, because I will do worse to you right now.

I will do worse to you. I will do worse to you. I will do fucking worse to you. year. I'm done. I'm done. You're getting fucking... I'm fucking done. Okay. Yeah. You done? The fight was completely one-sided. Antonetta dominated Ashley, punching her over and over with hard, angry fists, while Janine held the camera and continued cheering on her sister-in-law. Janine was giddy, like the bad teenager that she was, completely devoid of morality. Then, when Antonetta was done beating Ashley, she held her in place and called to Janine. That's when Janine backed up, took a running start, and drove her foot into Ashley's

side with brutal force. Over and over, she kicked her mercilessly, cackling and screaming like a deranged wild animal. Like something with rabies. She wanted to show her beloved sister-in-law exactly how tough she really was. So, she killed someone. Bitch, go ahead. Bitch, bitch. Wanna jump in there? Yeah, we could do that. You done?

You tapping out? Yeah, I'm done. I'm like, just fucking, why? Messed with a crazy ass bitch. When Antonetta and Janine were satisfied, she took Ashley's crocs and her cell phone, leaving her sitting on the blacktop trying to fix herself up

and salvage what little pride she had left. And he knows I'm crazy. Look at her face, looking dumb. Bitch. Babe, don't do this again, because you're gonna have to make me fight another bitch. Wow. That's what happens to everyone.

Go home. Let's go. But Ashley needed her phone back, and she wasn't going to let Antonetta and Janine take it. And so, even though she had been shamelessly beaten, she followed them back to their front door. She was woozy and breathless as she trailed them. Antonetta and Janine screamed at her to go home, but she didn't relent.

The screaming between the three women was so loud it woke up Daniel, who had been asleep the entire time. Can you imagine that? This is all your fault and you're just sleeping through it. Unlike Antonetta had professed during her brutal beating of Ashley, he had not okayed any of this. As he walked into the living room, Antonetta burst inside yelling. Daniel! Your bitch is outside. I fucked her up. I used your phone to write her. And I recorded it.

Let me repeat what Antonetta said in case you missed it. Daniel! Your bitch is outside. I just fucked her up. I used your phone to write her, and I recorded it." There it was. This 14-minute video held it all. A motive, a plan, the murder, and a confession. All recorded by Antonetta's trusty 17-year-old accomplice. What a fucking idiot. When Daniel figured out what was going on, he opened the front door and saw Ashley there,

bloody and shaken up. Stunned to find his boss and his secret girlfriend at his front door, he quickly slammed it in her face, then found her phone and gave it back to her. She snatched it and scurried home. Daniel was overcome with guilt. He immediately started texting Ashley from the privacy of another room. Ashley, please, are you okay? Nah, I'm good. Leave me alone. Please talk to me.

I can't breathe and my heart is skipping a beat. I'm about to go to urgent care. Bye. No way. Please. In body or hurt. Talk to me or let me see you. Fuck, I'm sorry. Sorry I wasn't there." In the light of truth, Ashley's secrecy at the hospital made sense. Why she never told Julian or the police that she knew her attackers. She couldn't risk her husband discovering the affair, especially not with their 10 tenth anniversary and his birthday on that day. Antonetta refused to press charges knowing full well she had set this storm in motion, luring Ashley out with a message from Daniel's phone. It wasn't like she claimed.

Ashley didn't come to her looking for a fight, but as the chaos simmered, one fact remained. Ashley was still alive when they left her. Neither Antonetta nor Janine realized that their cruel plan to teach Ashley a lesson about infidelity had already spiraled into something that they couldn't lie their way out of. Something that they wouldn't be confronted with until hours later, after the adrenaline rush had subsided and their kids had fallen asleep. It was about 4am when the police came back to Antonetta and Daniel's house and knocked on the door. Hey, I'm Detective Carl of Winnett County Police. Are you your incident?

Yes, hi. Hey, this is Detective Poppy, your Detective Poppy. Hi, nice to meet you. We didn't know that there was an incident that happened earlier today. Has anyone called you about it since? No, was somebody supposed to? Well, we just got another call about it. So I guess the girl went to the hospital and she died.

She died? She's dead. The lack of remorse here is astounding. It truly says something about the state of our society today. What exactly I'm not really sure. I'm not a sociologist. Is that who does things like that? I don't even really know. But I can tell you that as a human being, it feels disgusting. Antoinetta sounds like she's just been told her pizza delivery will be late, not that the girl she beat up, another human being, has died. I don't think I could ever fully understand the complete lack of empathy and sympathy

that it takes to do something like this and then be so cold and callous about it. But because of that we have to kind of talk to you guys and get a more formal statement. Wow, I'm so sorry about that. That was not my intention. I've been mentally going through a lot. I have bipolar depression and I'm just going through a lot right now and you know, I came here from up north with my fiance, that's him. Hey! Of course she has bipolar depression. Of course, right? Who doesn't? It's 2025, everybody has mental illness. You're not special. She's mentally been going through a lot, as if this fucking matters, seeing as she's just murdered someone with her bare hands.

But sure, it's all about guns. I came home with my fiance to start a new life, buy a house, everything like that, and I never expected him to basically cheat on me with someone at the workplace. You know what I'm saying? So we would like to get like a formal statement. So we're going to ask that you come up to our headquarters and talk to them. It's just right up the street.

OK. I hear kids. Is there someone else here? There's someone here with them? OK. Were they involved at all? No. OK.

So it's just you two guys? If you don't mind, if we could just get some shoes. It'll be quick. We'll be getting out. Okay. All right, so it's just you two guys? If you don't mind, if we could just get some shoes, it'll be quick. We'll be getting out. Okay. But their time at the police station wouldn't be quick. Antonetta and Janine's reckless decision to film their assault had already set the stage for disaster. But it wasn't just the evidence that left investigators disgusted.

In the interrogation room, something unexpected emerged. Something that would shift the entire case and reveal a darkness no one could see coming. 30-year-old Ashley Bocanegra had been attacked by Antoinette Stevens and Janine Gonzalez in their apartment complex. Ashley was having a secret affair with Antoinetta's fiancee Daniel. You see, she was his manager at the Florin Decor, a place that sells a bunch of tiles and flooring and shit. When Antoinetta discovered the affair, she used her fiance's phone to lure Ashley to a meet-up spot, where she and her sister-in-law Janine beat Ashley up until she had to be hospitalized. Hours later, Ashley succumbed to her injuries and died.

Now Antonetta and Janine were on the hook for her murder, not just a malicious catfight. They were taken down to the police station and the officers finally got Daniel alone so they could talk with him about what had happened. How long have you lived here? About a year. About a year? Yes. Do you know Ashley? Yes, sir.

How do you know Ashley? Uh, you know Ashley from the emotional relationship. Daniel admitted that he'd found out about the fight after Ashley showed up at the door looking for her phone. He felt terrible for slamming the door in her face, but he was stunned to see her there. How did she look when she opened the door? face but he was stunned to text her husband. Whatever she got, whatever. How did you know? Sorry.

How do you know that they took her phone? Did she tell you? She knocked on the door and yelled, please, I just want my phone. Daniel explained that he and Antoinetta had been having relationship problems long before his affair with Ashley. He'd wanted out of that relationship,

and he was preparing his exit. You and Tineda are having relationship problems already? Yeah, no, it's deep. It's deep. We got a kid and everything, so it's like, it's the more... I go off in respect. I have a kid with you, I'm gonna respect you regardless. Yeah. If I'm not with you, then I don't have to... I don't have to... I don't have to do that part anymore. I can just take care of my kid and give me help. I don't have to.

It's not like this is fresh. Like, I'm over here cheating on this woman. I'm not. We've been like, this has been a toxic environment, and she's just been trying to figure out what to do, and I've been trying to figure out what to do. But she doesn't want nobody to leave. I'm telling her, like, I'll leave.

I'll live in my like, I'll leave. I'll live in my car. I'll do whatever, but... Daniel had made it clear that he wanted to leave, even if it meant living in his car. What is it with these grown adults that can't get their shit together? Anyway, Aunt Annetta refused to let him go, because that's how it works.

This sucks sucks man. I know. Is she hurt? I don't see no pain. Like real bad? So honestly, I'm not gonna make a show. I'm not going to go and yell and that. I'm not gonna go call her.

I just, just wanna know. Well, yeah, we got a call from the hospital a while ago and she actually passed away. No, stop playing with me please. No, seriously. Please stop playing with me. Please stop playing with me. Yeah, we got a call from the hospital a while ago and she actually passed away Daniel broke down in uncontrollable sobs when the officers told him Ashley was dead He was panicking and it seemed like he was the only one who had been truly devastated by her sudden death. Oh, shit, oh, shit! Oh, shit!

The baby, the baby, the baby, the baby. Oh, my fucking god! Oh, my fucking god! Oh, my fucking god. Oh my fucking god. Oh my god. Oh fuck! Daniel was shattered. The woman he loved was gone. Murdered by the very person he'd been trying to escape.

Every breath felt heavy. Weighed down by the cruel truth. Ashley was dead because of him. Every breath felt heavy, weighed down by the cruel truth. Ashley was dead because of him. So, wow. Now you know why we're here. It's more than just a little fight. Wow. Wow. I felt, I felt the home in my heart.

And so this left. I really fucking can't get into it. It's fucking worse. How am I gonna fucking do this? Listen, you just got to take a breath and give yourself some time. The officer left Daniel with his thoughts and his son to keep him hopeful.

They had two murderers waiting for them at the police station. The ringleader, Antoinetta, was first. After having her rights read to her, she did the smart thing. Sort of. Do you have these rights in mind? Do you wish to talk to us now? Well, I do want to speak with the lawyer just because of how sensitive the situation is. I will say that, you know, I don't go out looking to harm anybody.

It's not my intention. I'm not going to say that I didn't do it. I'm not going to say that I'm not going to harm anybody. It's not my intention. I do feel very remorseful about anything that has happened with that. I'll also say that, you know, it

wasn't my intention to even get into altercation with her She came over to my place of residence looking for my fiance. We argued. I was hit. We fought. I feel really bad, but you know, I really, I don't know. I'm just, you know, it's just too much. It's just too much. She really trails off there, doesn't she?

Real low energy, low confidence, biatch. Antonetta clung to her story, ignoring the damning video evidence on Janine's phone. Maybe she was dumb enough to think that the cops would never find it? I don't know. I wouldn't put it past her. But because she wasn't willing to talk, she was thrown in jail. 17-year-old Janine wasn't as sharp as her sister-in-law. She'd stayed quiet when the police first showed up. But the moment a female detective strolled into the interrogation room, mirroring her

tone and attitude, Janine's face lit up. All it took was a little imitation for her to believe she'd found a friend. Hey! At least it's not as blazing hot in here, right? You look comfy. Can you sit right here for a minute? Where's the dirt yet? I swear, I swear it was just dirt. Girl, you see it's up.

I know I met you at your apartment. Yeah, I was just looking for you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Girl, you see it's up. I know I met you at your apartment.

Yeah, I'm Detective Parker. This is Detective Araya. He's still trying to like get filled in on everything. So basically her sister-in-law, there was a situation with her, her brother. There's a whole situation, whatever. We just got there talking to Antoinette. So basically we just gotta get your side now. Because you are in here, he has to read some stuff to you.

So he's gonna be the lead detective. So he's gonna do most of the talking, but I'm just in here because I'm kind of familiar with it, but I'm here too, so. Janine smiled at her, falling for the trick that this cop was somehow in the room for her benefit. Just go through basically since I was in there and I'm playing casual basically. So what happened?

So like let me start to where it leaded. Okay. Oh okay so like since I've been down here they have been on good terms. So, you know, arguments back to back. Janine confirmed that Danielle and Antoinetta were on the rocks. Things were bad. So, like, you know, they're arguing or whatever. So, my brother, him being a man cheats.

I go is, you know, he's feeling less than he thinks it's okay to cheat. So, you know, he tells me, he tells me who's he cheating with and stuff. Now me and my stepsister, I mean, not my stepsister, my sister-in-law, we're very close, like so close, like you understand. Like she's more of a sister to me than my brother's a brother to me, you know?

Yeah. So like we're very close. Antonetta was the sister Janine never had. She'd visited her every summer. So when Daniel admitted he was seeing Ashley, Janine couldn't wait to share the juicy gossip. So once he told me, I was just like, ooh, I want to tell her. It's girl code, you know what I mean, right?

To teenage Janine, this was all a game. The fact that Daniel, Antonetta, and their son were a family meant nothing. She was riding high on the thrill of being the gatekeeper of his secret. In case you haven't figured it out, kids are dumb. Especially teenagers. If you're looking for them to guide you, boy are you lost. And Daniel did something to her to make her upset. So we were talking or whatever. And I was just like, oh, I forgot to tell you. No, I didn't forget. So I was like, tell her what happened.

He explained, she did whatever. She was like, oh really? She was upset or whatever. I was like, don't tell her that. Because you're gonna be mad at me. He explained how the girl looked to me though. And you know, earlier, put her in Skinny Girl. So I was like, alright.

So then I explained it to his netta. So the next day after that we went to the store. Last night. Last night. We went to the store last night and we were walking the Kirk trip. Kirk trip is right there, you know. I thought it was like y'all walk it earlier. I thought that was you guys. The feud had been boiling for 24 hours. Janine told Antonetta about Ashley, and then Antonetta and Janine caught Daniel and Ashley

walking to the corner store on their work break. Janine kept talking to officers as if she was gossiping with her girlfriends on FaceTime. Her story was a far cry from the truth. She lied and said Ashley came to the door looking for a fight. And she comes to the house, you know, big fight, big fight. So, after the fight, we took her phone, we were going to call her husband to let her know that, you know, it's just, there's some problem.

So did she knock on the door at first or you guys just saw her outside? Outside. She didn't knock. She didn't get the can of soup. Okay. Cause they ordered and got this bitch coming. We went to meet her up. So yeah.

Did you guys start yelling at her before you guys approached her or how that go down? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Tell us about that. It wasn't really a big deal. It was like, yeah, you can't see my nigga. And then it was just fight after that.

She knew what it was because she got ready to, you know? And it was just fighting. Who was fighting? The girls, no. Everybody? No. Girl, you ain't getting nothing? No. Yeah. It's amazing how this detective just mirrors Janine's style of talking right back at her. And every time she falls for it, she relaxes her body and slips up again. Tell me about that, how that happened. I didn't go crazy though, cause she's small as hell.

Like, you're enough already. I don't need to be punch her, drag her around, you do all that, I'm good. I give my little hit and then that's it. Where'd you get it in at? I don't know. I know I had her though. Janine kept changing her story.

First it was Ashley who woke Daniel up. Then, wait, it was Antonetta who woke him up. Her lies were getting tangled and frayed as she tried to keep her story straight. Did you guys text her? No. What do you mean? Did you guys send messages to her? as she tried to keep her story straight. bit. I already read the messages. He messed up a little bit. What was the messages? He wasn't getting kicked out. Yes, he was.

You sure it was text messages to fight or was it something else? You don't know what you want to tell us. You're even honest with us all the time. It's fine. She'll be straight up. She's smart. That's a smart move. Because you know you text this thing and come over on the beach, oh yeah, she's not going to come over like that. You know, y'all are smart. Y'all finessed the hell out of that girl. Of course. She, you know, they'll prove to say come over. No, she was not going to fight regardless, to be honest.

Janine's lies were like a bad high school rumor, spreading fast but falling apart under the slightest scrutiny. She was too oblivious to grasp the fact that she wasn't walking out of this police station scot-free with her cell phone in her jean shorts. Earlier today she didn't know that she was walking into a fight. cell phone in her jean shorts. See, buddy, was that a result of her injury she sustained during the fight? She's crazy. How does it make you feel? This shit, it makes me feel like I'm going to hell.

That I'm not gonna lie. And her shit was pretty fucked up. I don't know. Daniel thought, he said, when I opened the door, I saw her. I was like, oh shit, and I slammed the door, because he feels so fucked up. Yeah, he did do that, he did do that, he did do that, he did do that. The careless and sinister nature of her affect is terrifying. People like this actually exist in society and sometimes they vote.

This girl has absolutely no remorse for the fact that she helped murder someone. Nor does she even really care that Ashley was being an alleged homewrecker Trying to ruin break up your family Sure that made you upset No, they've been on a rocky road for a minute. I've been in the US cheating when he told me. So I was just like, what do I expect from this? Is that her first word even? You're more scared that he was going to go off with her?

Well, that's scary he was going to go off with her. To be honest, me and my brother isn't really that close. We're trying to work on it. So it was just like, I'm not- It just makes it easier when families together. You got your sister, you got him. Yeah, but I don't live with a woman. I don't really feel that.

That we can actually, and just like me and her are close and I come to her. And he's just like my brother. With that, they left Janine alone. In the interrogation room, she laid her head on the desk and slept on it like a pillow. Like little kids do in preschool. She played with the scrunchie around her wrist. Then the detective came back in.

Hey, it's me. Alright, so we're going to have to book you into a jail. Your charges can be battery, alright, for the fight. Like? Aggravated battery. Oh, aggravated battery? Yeah. So it's just basically just a little more serious than just a regular battery. Okay.

But we had to take the phone for evidence. Ah, Janine's phone. The only character in this entire story capable of telling the truth. So what happens? We're gonna go to the jail. We'll get you booked in, fingerprinted, photo, all that. Then what else? Wait for a court. So you clear on your charges? Yeah, what else? Wait for a court. So you clean her in your charges?

Yeah, I guess. Yeah. It's robbery. Robbery? Oh, no! What? Robbery? Yeah. We didn't steal her phone. We took it so she could come to hell.

Oh, you took it? Yeah, she got her phone back. I told you, she wasn't leaving unless she got, we gave her back her phone. We just did it so we could call her husband when we changed her mind. Okay. Yeah, but damn, she got her phone back.

She says it was okay for you to take it? No. Okay, yeah, that's a robbery. Other charge is murder. Murder? Yeah, you'd be in charge of murder. Me? Yeah. That's a murder. Murder? No, you're being charged with murder. Me? Yep.

That's too bad. That's deep, right? Yeah, that's fucking insane. Yeah. No, no, no, no, what? Murder? I put my hands on her, all I did was pull her hair. You want some of this, Ginny?

Yeah, I do. Bitch, go ahead. Bitch, bitch. It was Janine's foot that delivered the fatal blows, the ones that pushed Ashley past the point of no return. The sheer force of them big ass hams as those final kicks caused bleeding in Ashley's lungs, sealing her fate in a brutal, merciless instant. Though it would take hours for Ashley to actually die, Janine's part in this beating was the nail in her coffin. Antonetta and Janine were charged with felony murder, robbery, and aggravated battery. They waited in jail for their day in court. When it was Janine's turn, she sat beside her

court-appointed lawyer, tears streaming down her acne-splotched face, as she argued she was just a bystander and deserved a manslaughter charge instead. But the video… disagrees. There was no spinning the truth that was all caught on 1080p. Actually it could have been 720 or 480, who knows? This ain't a camera course. But after weeks of wrangling, both Antoinetta and Janine took their plea deals. 20 years for voluntary manslaughter and robbery by force. Two decades in Arendelle State Prison will do things to you.

There's plenty of time to relive every reckless second. Every cruel decision. Every moment of that recording is on Janine's phone. Plenty of time to regret it all, microsecond by microsecond. But would either of these women be capable of such introspection? I doubt it. After all, it takes a little bit of intellect to have a conscience. It's ironic. It's ironic. Ashley and Julian came to Georgia from New York searching for a better life, a fresh start from the chaos of the projects and their tangled past. Antonetta and Daniel

came for the exact same reason, even from the same state. But neither couple was truly in a good place. Your geographic location doesn't really matter much if the core of who you are is all fucked up. The trouble they tried to escape followed them across state lines, growing into an unstoppable force when Daniel and Ashley started falling for each other during their night shifts at Florin Decor. Daniel and Ashley found one another because they weren't happy in their own relationships. They wanted something more.

And when a new town, a new house, and a new life wasn't enough to fill the void, what they wanted was a new person to be with, not a change of scenery. Daniel was a man trapped with a woman he didn't like, bound by a sense of duty to their son. His affair with Ashley was a spark of hope in a life that felt dim and joyless. Every moment with her was electric and Ashley felt the same. We all heard Daniel sobs when she died.

Who knows what they talked about in those quiet moments together. Maybe they dreamed of turning their affair into something real and long-lasting. Maybe they even imagined leaving their partners and starting fresh together. But those dreams died the minute Daniel confided in his teenage sister. Janine was the little piece of the past that came down to Georgia that summer and threw gasoline on the fire. A child who didn't create the situation, but she surely made it go from bad to fatal. And pretty fast. For Julian, for their son, for Daniel,

and for all of those who loved Ashley, one heartbreaking reality remains. Sometimes a fresh start isn't enough to leave the troubles of the past behind. And if you find yourself being miserable and you wanna just patch it up instead of discovering and fixing the actual problem? Well then, don't worry because the problem will eventually find you. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it.

I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it.

I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it. Episode 15, titled Burn, of Sword and Scale Television is out now at swordandscale.com. It's a harrowing tale of a couple teenagers that just wanted to buy some pot. And bad things happen. State of the world these days, I swear. It's like parenting took a decade off once they invented the iPad.

I'm gonna go record some more. Maybe you should try being a mom. I'm gonna be a man, I'm gonna be a man Thanks for watching!