Sword and Scale - Episode 366

Episode Date: August 23, 2026

In April of 2024, 25-year-old Megan Bodiford went missing. The search for answers would uncover a violent crime hidden in plain sight and reveal how the signs of danger were there all along.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

Sword and scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. I had to look at what he did. I had to look at it with my own eyes after putting everything I had into finding her. And I promise you that everybody involved is going down. So I'm letting you know everybody who's involved in knows something and didn't tell us is going to pay. Hello and welcome to Season 13, episode 366 of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals that the worst monsters are real.

In late April of 2024, something wasn't right in Denmark, the Denmark in South Carolina, that is. That's when residents of this small town turned on their nightly news and learned about a troubling situation. A young mother of three had gone missing. Tonight, rising emotions in Bamberg County is investigators search for this missing mother of three. Something's not right because she wasn't a mother

that just drops her kids off with anybody. This is 25-year-old Megan Botaford. Investigators say she sent some concerning text messages to a friend last Thursday, and she has not been seen since. 25-year-old Megan Badaford was reported missing, on April 26, 2024, by one of her closest friends, Grace Reindle. According to Grace, the last time she heard from Megan was through text messages.

Megan had asked if she and her youngest baby could spend the night at Grace's house, which was something that wasn't out of the ordinary. Grace told her yes and that she would leave the front door unlocked before going to bed, so Megan could let herself in, just like she had done many times before. You had a follow-up call with her at 9.50. Yeah. 9.50 p.m. April 25th, I called her. I had to take sleeping medication to sleep the night, so I'd already taken it. So I told her I couldn't try just to get a baby to come to me. So I got up and I unlocked my door, turned on the porch light, and figured that she let herself in as she's done so many times before.

Okay. But she ever did? The next morning, when Grace woke up, she realized that Megan and her baby hadn't shown up. At first, she assumed Megan had simply changed her mind, but after repeated attempts to reach her when unanswered, that assumption started to feel a lot less certain. So, Grace drove to Megan's house to check on her. Also, the night that I did call her missing, I went to her house. Question on that. How did you get in? Did you kick the door?

It's fine if you did. Yes. Okay, cool. We're just trying to piece. Everyone said you kicked the door. It was not a big deal. When Grace arrived at Megan's home, there was no sign of Megan or her baby. At that point, she knew something was very wrong.

So she went to the police and reported her missing. It didn't take long for this story of a missing mom to reach the local media. This home used to be full of life, but now it stands empty. April the 11th, I heard from her, and I told her I loved her. And she told me she loved me too, forever and always. And then those were the last words Megan Bauda Ford. said to her cousin. She's very strong and resilient and beautiful. She's a wonderful mother and we need her home. The pain is hard to put into words for her family, but all they want is for

Megan to come home. It's my baby cousin. She got to come home to these babies. I need her home. I don't need her lost. As Megan's family held on to hope that she would return, local authorities brought in the South Carolina law enforcement division, better known as SLED, to assist with the investigation. Part of that assistance involved arresting someone close to Megan,

her 28-year-old boyfriend, Jared Davis. A missing person's report says due to prior call history, concerned for the safety of a baby in the home, and her boyfriend having an active arrest warrant, deputies wanted to request SLED

to assist in executing a search warrant, and then arresting him on an outstanding warrant. Jarrett was the father of Megan's youngest child, and when officers arrived at his home to arrest him on an unrelated warrant, they found the baby unharmed. But there was still no sign of Megan. As her boyfriend, Jarrett was an obvious person of interest. It's always the boyfriend.

But it wasn't just their relationship that drew attention. According to Megan's friend Grace, several of Jarrett's own friends said he wasn't acting like himself on the day Megan disappeared. Something about him seemed off. When Earl and Danielle did show up in my house, they kept telling me that they were being very suspicious.

Jared, they hung out with Jared all day, and he was being very suspicious about not letting them go to Megan's house to look for her. Naturally, after Jarrett was taken into custody, investigators sat down with him to talk about Megan and find out what he knew about. her disappearance. Your first name is Jared, right?

Jared. Jared. Jared. J-A-R-E-T-T. All right. So the other day you were, I got, I spoke to you briefly. You were already in the back of the police car. And we talked just a little bit.

And really just kind of following up. I know I told you that we would, you know, keep you updated on what was going on. And that's what I'm here to do. since you are in custody, I have to read you your Miranda rights just because we're going to talk to you. Not long after this interview began, Jared became emotional.

He broke down, frustrated that he was sitting in jail while his girlfriend was still missing. He wanted to know why he had been denied bail. Really, you know, now we're going to, now we've got to figure out how what happened, what happened. So I'm going to try to pick you, a little bit more. Can I ask you what?

Why would my mind in the man? I'm sorry. What was my mind in that? Well, I had no idea on that. This was... Like, I've been looking to do this. So your previous charges are not sled charges. Yeah, I don't know.

So I wonder. Yeah. I don't even know what you're at. You know, what do you win for? Or do you make all this in the jail still? Can you tell? So my baby, my baby, my baby. But see, we don't even know.

What are you in jail for? What are you currently in jail for, Jared? CDP. When did that occur? Over a month ago. Over a month ago. The sheriff's officer or the city? Sheriff's office.

And that's what the charges. That's what they're holding me. Okay. Jared had been arrested because of a prior incident of criminal domestic violence, involving Megan. Which was something that didn't exactly work in his favor now that she was missing. So I want to go back into detail the last time you saw Megan. So what day was the last day you saw? Thursday, I don't...

That Thursday? Thursday night? Thursday night. I think it was Thursday. Okay. Thursday night, probably. About what time Thursday night? Do you remember last seeing her?

I don't remember time. She bought out and I was changing the baby. All right. Was it daylight? Was it dark? It was like 12 o'clock at night. Past 12, I don't know. So after midnight.

Yeah. So we talking after midnight, Thursday night? going into Friday morning? Okay. Tell me about the conversation. Tell me about what was going on between y'all two that day. Thursday. Jared claimed that the last time he saw Megan was the day she went missing.

He said the two of them had spent the day together, taking their baby to a baseball game. Not sure what kind of baby enjoys a baseball game, but whatever. Let's continue. He explained that everything seemed normal. enjoyable even. But after they returned home, things changed. The two had sex, and then an argument started.

Me and her a six later tonight. So you and her had sex? Yeah, all right. So things were okay? At this point? Until like a tweet of the day, she wanted me a nut in her. Yeah, I didn't. And you did?

And that's when she started getting upset. All right. According to Jarrett, Megan became upset. after they had sex. He claimed that he tried to calm her down. So she's mad. She pull out because she wants to get pregnant again. Wants another baby.

She wants a boy or girl? Worn the boy. Want a boy? Any kind of, at that point, she's mad. She, throw anything in the house. She, like... Usually if I get around a baby, or, like, get the whole little baby.

Right. I'm doing some of the baby shoot, it won't escalate it out. If you're holding the baby, or she... If I'm messing with the baby around the baby, I'm going to escalate. That's not what happened?

So... As well, I told her, when she left, I was traded the baby. Okay. You know what I'm saying? I'm trying to de-escalate everything near the baby. So if you got the baby close by, she ain't going to do nothing.

Everything is usually fine. Now, the baby ain't close by. She might throw something. She might throw something at you. She ever hit you? Anything like that? Jared admitted that past arguments between him and Megan had become physical. But he insisted that it didn't,

it didn't happen the night she went missing. Instead, he claimed that after the argument, Megan simply left the house, and he never saw her again. You ever hit her? That's matter before. Okay. Did any of that happen Thursday night? So there was nothing physical Thursday night? It was just one side of the heat, really.

It was just, she was the only one really upset. Okay. That time. All right. How long after all this, do you think it was before she left? How long do you think she's... stuck around the house and... Yeah, it wasn't too long.

Because as she was... As the big room was going back before, she... was when she left. Okay. And what did she tell you when she was leaving? She said that she'd live baby with me since she always has a baby. Uh-huh. Which she moved away the way she left,

like I'm pretty sure told the other one that said I thought she was coming right back. Mm-hmm. Where did you... Had she had been leaving, where would you have thought she would have went? I thought she just went to graces for a little bit or came back or he just left and came back? I got you. But she didn't come back that night. That's why the next morning when she ain't called to go to the baby,

I was like 90 o'clock in the morning and I contacted her mama. As to she talked to her at all. Much of what Jarrett told the investigators appeared to check out. They confirmed that he and Megan had gone to a baseball game earlier that day and that he had called Megan's mother the following morning asking about her. but something about his story just didn't sit right. By this point, investigators already learned that Megan was a devoted mother. If she had stormed out in anger, it seemed very unlikely that she would leave her baby behind.

Still, while keeping Jarrett firmly on their radar, investigators started to consider another possibility. There was someone else who had been among the last to hear from Megan. Her friend, Grace. When did you report her missing? I believe it was somewhere between 6 and 7 p.m. Friday. What, I don't know people, I ask you a lot, but why did you wait so long? That was a tough question. Like I said, I'm not judging you.

No one's judging you, you know. Well, I heard her on the phone. You know, we had a. thing that if she was ever in danger to send me the address so I could send help. That's why I immediately called him when I saw that, and she told me no, don't call. I'm just going to leave. Grace claimed that when she woke up and realized Megan had never arrived, she went looking for her, eventually forcing her way into Megan's home to check on her.

Yet despite this urgency, it took nearly 24 hours for Grace to go to the police and report her missing. If she was that concerned, then why? I wait. There was also another detail investigators couldn't ignore. Grace and Megan's boyfriend Jared had a romantic history. Did you have a relationship with Jared Davis? We, that's actually how I met Megan, was, um, me and Jared had a brief, you know, kind of like a one-night stand. And when I saw him post and Megan, um, she had best. me and we talked about it and we decided to be best friends instead of fighting over somebody I didn't want. Gotcha.

That's how our friendship started and we had been super close ever since. I have not ever touched Jared since. Grace claimed that there was no animosity between her and Megan over Jarrett. And based on how investigators handled that response, it seemed like they believed her. By this point, detectives had spoken with the last two people. known to have contact with Megan before she disappeared. And they were no closer to understanding where she had gone or what had happened to her. Meanwhile, Megan's family, which included her three daughters, waited anxiously for answers and

hoped for Megan's safer turn. Now, Megan was a young mom. Her family tells me she has three young daughters that are waiting for their mom to come home. Her youngest daughter is only about four months old. and again, like I said, all her family wants is for her to come home so she can be a mom to those young daughters. On April 30th, five days after Megan was reported missing, investigators finally got a break in the case. All afternoon, the Bamberg County Sheriff's Office has been in the woods right here, right off of Barnwell, excuse me, highway. Now, we aren't sure what they were looking for exactly, but we did just get confirmed that they found a burned vehicle with human remains inside.

We aren't sure who's those remains belong to, but just a couple of miles down the road, you can find Megan Bodeford's family holding on to hope that it was not her. Just a few miles from Jarrett's home, investigators made a horrific discovery. On a desolate back road, they found a burned-out vehicle with charred human remains inside. Still not 100% positive that is hurt. It's just possibility, like I said. Vehicle found. Not even sure what kind of vehicle it was because it was burned pretty bad.

And then there was evidence of a body being in there. So we haven't gotten the results back whether it was made or not. Given the condition of both the car and the body, investigators couldn't immediately confirm whether it belonged to Megan. An autopsy and DNA results were needed. But all signs pointed in the same direction. This was likely. Megan Badaford.

After all, who else could it be? There was, however, one thing investigators were able to determine early on, with some degree of certainty. The victim in the burned-out car hadn't been killed inside the vehicle. They had been shot first and then placed there. That was placed in a driver's seat. It wasn't from driving. It was placed there. This body was placed there and then burned.

placed there and burned. She was dead before it was burned. She had already been killed. She was shot by a shotgun in the soul. Somebody drove her out there, left her in the vehicle, set it on fire, and it burned. Her body up and it burned the vehicle up. Following the discovery of the burned car and the human remains,

the investigation into Megan Badaford only became more complicated. As investigators dug deeper, the list of suspects continued to grow, and for a time a chilling question loomed over the case. What if Megan hadn't been killed by one person, but instead by a group of people she trusted? In late April of 2024, in Denmark, South Carolina, 25-year-old mother of three Megan Bodeford vanished. In the days that followed, investigators worked to piece together her last known movements,

focusing on two people who had been in contact with her just before she disappeared, her boyfriend, Jared Davis, and her close friend Grace Reindle. Both were questioned, both denied involvement, and neither could explain where Megan had gone. Then, five days later, investigators discovered a burned-out vehicle on a remote road with a burned corpse inside. But at that point, one question remained. Was this Megan? Our top story is now, a family on edge waiting for autopsy results after the discovery of a burned vehicle with human remains inside. All of this happening with one question on a lot of binds.

Where is 25-year-old Megan Botaford? Nearly a week has passed since Megan Bonaford's family laid eyes on her. They don't want to believe she's gone. All they want is for this young mom to come home, but for right now, it's the agonizing waiting game they are being forced to play. That's hard. It's really hard. I just miss her so much.

I really can't describe it. I walked outside the other day and just said, Lord, I don't understand this. This is an arm. While Megan's family waited anxiously for the results of the autopsy, Megan's boyfriend Jarrett also waited as he sat in a jail cell on an unrelated warrant. Have you heard anything new? Just as one of the news. What's been on the news?

Body found. Body found. You saying that was Megan? What's your thoughts? So I will confirm, yeah. A vehicle was found that was burned. with more than likely it does appear there there was a body in it.

I know it's tough. I wanted, like I told you that day, if anything came up, I would be, I would come and tell you. When investigators confirmed the news reports of a burned body, Jarrett appeared genuinely shaken. His concern for Megan seemed real. About three days after the car and the body were discovered,

the autopsy results came back. and it was the outcome no one had been hoping for. April 30th, deputies from the Bamberg County Sheriff's Office discovered a burned vehicle here with possible human remains inside. Three days later, we now know those remains belong to Megan Botaford, a young mom of three young daughters. Tragically, this was no longer a missing person case. It was now a homicide. and not just any homicide. Someone had shot a mother of three in the head,

then loaded her body into a car and set it on fire, burning Megan beyond recognition. You know, we have arson experts that were out there that had been doing us for 18 years. He said that was the worst body that he has ever seen in his life. He's been doing us for 18 years. That body was burned so bad that in 18 years, that is the worst body he has ever seen.

Who would do that to Megan? Who would do that? It was personal. Whoever did it, it was personal. It wasn't something random. It was personal. Investigators were left with the obvious question. Who would have done this to Megan?

And why? At first, there were only two possible suspects to consider. Her boyfriend Jared and her close friend, Grace. But that list didn't remain small for long. Daniel Simmons, she was actually talking about what happened to Megan before her body was over-discovered. And it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. What was she talking about it? It was Sunday.

And she said that I bet Jared shot her and set her in her car. As the investigation expanded, detectives became aware of a recent acquaintance of Megan's. a young woman named Danielle Simmons Her name came up more than once And according to several people Danielle had been talking about Megan's body Being burned days before the car and the remains were discovered I had just given this girl a ride

I bet but she was talking about the Megan She said she knew this girl named Danielle Simmons And he was running her mouth Before everything had came out on Facebook and all that Where there was no way this girl should have known what she known So maybe they need to look into her or look at her phone or something because she might know more than what she's saying or has something to do with it.

Once Danielle's name surfaced, investigators moved quickly. They tracked her down and brought her in for questioning. All right, Daniel. What we're doing, we're investigating the case with Megan. And we've beat the bushes. We've talked a lot of folks. your names come up as having some information. Don't want you to get yourself back in the corner or anything,

but anything you've got is definitely important, okay? If you happen to be there earlier or later or whatever, it's all important. So what I don't want you to do is sit here and tell us a story and it not be real because then you go find yourself in a pickle, okay? After advising Danielle that it was in her best, interest, to be honest, investigators got straight to the point, asking where she had been on the day that Megan went missing.

Let's start with Thursday, the 25th. I seen her at 2 o'clock that afternoon. Like, me and Earl went over there to work on his throat. When you say her, you mean Megan? Yeah. That's the last time I seen her. She was leaving from Jared's. Jared came out with Falcon and was like,

we were about to ride somewhere. And I was like, okay, they left. And Megan comes out and sits on the porch, a lot over there was talking to her, whatever. And she was telling me that, you know, she was tired, she was leaving it. She was done. Tired of him putting his hands on her and stuff.

And I was like, yeah, Jared said, he was knocked out. She said, yeah, because he knocked me out. the night before or whatever She said she was going home and not tell Jerry where she was at and I was like okay and she got in her car

Danielle admitted that she had seen Megan at Jarrett's house on the day she went missing she claimed Megan confided in her saying she was tired of being abused by Jared and when Jarrett left the house with a friend Danielle said Megan took the opportunity

to leave according to Danielle Megan simply got into her and drove off and she never saw her again. Jared and Falcon came back up. He was like, where's Megan? And he said, I don't know if she was leaving. And he's seen the clothes and stuff and got mad and grab a bag from the shit

and got into a car with Falcon and left. Danielle said that when Jarrett returned and realized Megan was gone, he and his friend Falcon, yeah, yeah, his name's Falcon. Let's continue. The two of them went out looking for her. She claimed she didn't go with them, but later that night she returned to Jarrett's house. Megan still wasn't there, but Jarrett was.

Did you at any time go back over to Jarrett's house that night? It was, we did, but we just stopped by. Who was that Jarrett when y'all got there? Nobody. Nobody. Was Jared there? Yeah. Was Megan Char there?

Mm-mm. Okay. Another one car. He was burning in a fire pit. According to Danielle, when she returned to Jarrett's house, she found him outside burning items in a fire pit. And somehow this didn't trigger any alarms. What adult. Two investigators, that just didn't sit right.

Shouldn't sit right with anyone. Because despite seeing something like that, Danielle still claimed she had no idea what happened. happened to Megan. We already know a lot of stuff, so hear me out. You know, if you know something or if you've been told something, you hear or heard something, and you know that's your opportunity to be straight with us. I haven't heard anything. Do you have any idea where she went?

No. How was your relationship with Megan? I just met her. Like, you know, I didn't know her. What do you think happened to Megan? I really don't want to surprise me being honest with you. Jared didn't do it. Okay.

What was the last thing you said? It really wouldn't surprise her if Jared would do so. I don't know if he'd be able to. Danielle seemed reluctant to implicate Jared, but when pressed, she admitted it wouldn't surprise her if he was responsible for Megan's death. In fact, she said that was the only explanation. that made sense.

Jared's last one I've seen her. How did you know that? Because, I mean, she left his house with the baby. Okay. For him to have gotten, I mean, the baby was with him when we seen him. So he had to have been the last person I see her because where to get baby, where did you get baby from? Despite Danielle's insistence that she didn't know what happened to Megan, investigators clearly weren't convinced as they continued to press.

her. Did anyone threaten you at all not to say anything? No. No one threatened you. You're not scared about getting. No, I didn't see her. Everybody was making it. I don't know.

Didn't see her. After she left, she, I wish I didn't have. If Danielle had any involvement in or knowledge of Megan's murder, she didn't admit it. And by the end of the interview, investigators were no close. to finding answers. If anything, the case was becoming more complicated. Rumors started to spread. And with those rumors came more names,

each one adding to a growing list of potential suspects. Which is why web sleuths, people on the internet that try to solve crimes, in between runs to Walmart, should stay the fuck out of a case and mind their own goddamn business. They often make crimes harder to solve, not easier. The problem, the thing is, we have to verify everything that people tell us.

Right. So, you know, we're still, a lot of the problem is the rumor mill around town is crazy. Everyone thinks that everyone was involved and did stuff. Eventually, the rumors surrounding Megan's murder made their way into the local jail where Jarrett was being held. Before long, another inmate, someone who actually knew Megan, asked to speak with investigators. All right. What's your first and last name, sir? Corey Carlisle. I got a request from you saying that you have some information on Megan's disappearance.

Well, for starters, I know Megan from the streets and stuff. I know who she hangs out with. I actually seen her several days before I got locked up, which was in February. Who do you think is our suspect? Well, I mean, I don't like pointing fingers without reasonable suspect, but I mean, I know that I know who she used to hang out with. I know who she was real close to. Would that be? That would be Ariana.

Why do you think she would do something? Well, I know in the past she's had problems with her before. Like I said, if anything were to happen to, Megan, I would think that Ariana would definitely know about it. You think she does she do something to her? She's crazy. She's pretty crazy. Inmate Corey pointed the finger at another friend of Megan's, a woman named Ariana. But when investigators followed up on that lead, it went nowhere.

Still, during the interview, Corey said something that did catch their attention. When asked what he'd heard inside the jail, He told them something that echoed what Danielle Simmons had already said. What do you have been hearing him here? Anything? Well, I'd actually talked to somebody earlier who knows Megan too, hangs out with Megan. We're used to anyways. Yep.

And she said that she heard problems between the two, the boyfriend of the baby daddy, Jerich. Is it Jared or Jerich? It's a Jared or Jerry. I think it's Jared. Yeah, Jared. Between Jerich and them, they are you all the time. Okay. It was no secret that Jarrett had been abusive towards Macon.

An interview after interview seemed to end the same way, with the person being questioned suggesting that more than likely, Jarrett was responsible for this murder. What do you think, in my head, like I told him, I think he might put his hand on too bad at the time, and he might be right, in my head, I think he hurt it and just hurt too bad, he can do anything about it. Another name, you know what I'm saying?

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Another name investigators kept hearing was an unusual one. You know the one. Falcon. Falcon Joyner, to be precise. Falcon was a young man who was close to Jared.

They'd been friends, and he'd been with him on the night that Megan disappeared. Just kind of give me a rundown of what you want to talk about here today. The audio of Falcon telling what went on this weekend with him and Jared and Megan. So give me a gist. Does he ever admit to anything? He admits to picking Jared up. Jared Carlton.

And he came over and he was like, man, I'm going to kill this bitch and all this through an axe in the back of Jerry. Jared threw an axe in the back of... So he picked up Jared at Jared's train. trailer down the road? Okay. He threw an axe in the back of the truck, and he told Falcon, I give you $40. You're going to Aiken anyway.

Just run me to her house, drop me off at her house. And Falcon's like, Bo, I don't know about that. He's like, come on, I give you 40, so Falcon ended up taking it. Eventually, investigators started hearing that Falcon may have helped Jarrett carry out the murder, or at the very least gave Jarrett a ride to the place where Megan was killed. supposedly Falcon was paid $40 for that ride. After that, he said he finally pulled up again at Jared's house. He said Jared was acting all weird.

On Saturday? Friday, my Friday. Say Jared was acting all weird and shit. It was asking crazy questions and was like, you think she, he was trying to put like she overdosed or something shit. You think she overdosed on something more or something like that? Because she left me with the kids that said she was going out. like, why would that automatically be the first thing you're trying to throw out there

unless you try to come up with a store? Okay. Then, Falcons, like, he was like, well, I honestly think Jerry killed. He said, because after that, he was like, both the police going to think I killed her. And Falcons, like, I don't even understand why he would even say that. Yeah. But then Falcon, I feel like Falcons involved in it,

he's just trying to separate himself, make it seem like he didn't do everything that he did. Like every other name that surfaced, in this investigation, the detectives eventually tracked Falcon down and questioned him. Sorry, I had to. I couldn't help myself. Here's the real interview. Everybody calls me Falcon. My Falcon is my middle name.

Falcons. All right, Falcon. Yes, sir. We know everything that went on in the other guy. Everything. I know everything because people with consciences are talking. And your name's in the middle of all this. And it's not matching up.

Some of what you told us is true. Some of it isn't, and I can prove it. You know more than you told me the other day. Investigators immediately took a hard line with Falcon, which made their theory pretty clear. They believed Jarrett had committed the murder and that Falcon had either helped him or at the very least knew some details about what had happened.

Every bit of what I told you the other night is the truth. as far as my timeline goes. No, I know your timeline. You know exactly what happened. We know exactly what happened. No, I know what I've heard happened. I mean, I've been told throughout. No, I know that he told you.

No, I never talked. I swear, Alan, I'm telling you. Despite the investigator's certainty, Falcon maintained that Jarrett never confided in him about killing Megan. At 10, I believe it was 1055, he started blowing me up, Call me, call me, calling me, calling me.

I never once answered that phone for him, not that night at all. Okay. I assume what he was trying to do was he wanted an alibi. He wanted somebody to be there to verify, hey, I'm sitting here with the baby. You know, don't know where Megan is. Falcon claimed to be on the same page as the investigators. He had his suspicions about what Jarrett may have done, but he didn't know for sure what happened.

I don't talk to him none that night at all. All right, Friday comes in. That's when he called me, and that's the first time I answered the phone. And I knew immediately that something, you know, the way he was talking, I could hear it hearing his voice. I said, something ain't right. You watch something, something ain't right. Something's going to, I don't know what he's done.

Something's happened. Falcon also claimed that Jarrett had suddenly asked him to hide his firearms, one of which may have been the murder weapon, but Falcon refused. And he goes, he's just sitting there and he goes, yeah, I should probably do something he's going, shit. Just like that. And I said, I mean, aren't you a felon? Be honest. I swear to God, all my kids, that's what I said.

I said, aren't you a felon? He goes, well, I mean, I don't know, technically I don't know. And I said, I mean, he looked at me like, hey, you'll take him? He never asked me. Or, you know, he just kind of looked at me like, I should probably get ready to. guns in it. And I'm sitting there with the only vehicle, right? Similar to the other suspects investigators spoke with, Falcon's story seemed credible.

He may have been just another person caught up in a rumor mill, and someone who actually knew nothing about the murder. What have you heard? This is what I heard. The latest I heard today was when I talked to his sister, she called me this morning and said, did you hear how she died? And I said, well, I mean, I've heard a lot of things.

She said, well, I talked with Megan's mom today. And she said, so it's a pretty reliable source, that he beat her to death. Well, beat her unconscious. And that he, you know, while she was unconscious, took her and loaded her up. And wherever hell he went and did his thing, burned the car. and I was like, well, unconscious you mean like she was alive in there? And she was like, yeah. And I said, God damn.

Even though Falcon seemed genuinely ignorant about the facts of the case, investigators made it clear that if he had any involvement with the murder or knowledge of it, they would find out. I had to look at what he did to her. I had to look at it with my own eyes after putting everything I had into finding her. And I promise you, that everybody involved is going down. So I'm letting you know.

Yeah, boo. Everybody who's involved and knows something and didn't tell us is going to pay. I've been trying to help all I can, but me and Megan were friends, man. I mean, I'm going to tell you about. I'll show you my messages with her. Do you want to see him?

About how she was trying to, you know, that he was beating her ass. We know. Oh, we know all that. I told her. I'll show it to you. I said, man, he's not a good person, Megan. You get your kids and get out of it.

Well, I would have been the motherfucker I tried to burn my house down like he did yours. And I'm like, well, you know, I mean, you still need to get. I can show it to you. I can get nothing to hide, man, shit. Because, I mean, I haven't done anything. I swear to God on my, on everything, bro.

If y'all want to go look at my house in my shed, anything around there, y'all welcome to go do it. I'll go with you, but it don't matter. Y'all want my phone. Y'all want to take pictures. Whatever y'all want to do, I'm willing to help you. I don't got nothing to hide, bro. Ultimately, it wasn't an interview with a potential suspect that led investigators in the right direction.

It was Megan herself and her final words to a friend. Megan was reported missing by a friend on Friday. Her friend repeated what was in the police report. So her friends have been sending me messages in where Megan is basically scared for her life. She said that her child's father had a gun, and if nobody contacted in the next 30 minutes to send the police because he killed her. I have those messages screenshoted. Megan was basically begging for help again. This missing person's report says she sent text messages on April 25th to a friend saying if they didn't hear from her in 30 minutes to call law enforcement,

and that her boyfriend was going to kill her. In a text message to her friend Grace, Megan wrote the following. Jarrett's about to kill me. If you don't hear from me in 30 minutes, call the law. After receiving this text message, Grace asked Megan if she should call the police immediately.

Megan told her no, and instead asked if she and her baby could spend the night at Grace's house. And I asked if everything was okay. And she was crying and she said that he was beating her. And I asked her if she wanted me to go ahead and call the police. She said no that she would try to leave and get the baby and come to my house. And so I had take sleeping medication to help me sleep the night.

So I'd already taken it. So I told her I couldn't try just to get a baby to come to me. So I got up and I unlocked my door, it turned on the porch light and figured that she'd let herself in as she's done so many times before. Okay. But she never did? She never shot. Sadly, Megan. and her baby never showed up at Grace's home that night.

And the obvious assumption was that she never got the chance to actually go there. Jarrett probably stopped her, and when she resisted, he shot her, placing her body in her car, driving her to a desolate road and setting it on fire. It was a theory that made sense, but investigators would still need proof. And as it turns out, they were about to get it. because nearly everything that happened that night was caught on camera. In late April of 2024, Megan Badaford vanished. Days later, her body was found inside a burned car on a remote road.

Investigators questioned those closest to her, and as the case unfolded, more names began to surface, each one adding to a growing list of potential suspects. But even as the list grew, all roads continued to lead back to one person. Her boyfriend, Jarrett Davis. Megan Botaford was last heard from on Thursday, April the 25th, when she texted a friend that she feared that Davis was going to kill her. Days later, human remains were discovered in a burnt car not far from where the couple stayed. The Bamberg County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at the couple's residence on Saturday and took Davis into custody on an active domestic violence arrest warrant.

Bautiford was nowhere to be found, but her four-month-old baby was there unharmed. After his arrest, Jarrett was questioned and he denied any involvement in Megan's disappearance. He claimed the two had gotten into an argument and that Megan simply left, leaving their baby behind. As ridiculous as that sounds. So Thursday night, when you got home from baseball and the stores and stuff, she got mad and she left. Did she pack anything?

Her car was state packed full of stuff. Oh, really? Yeah, her car stayed full of stuff. So she had clothes and all that. Yeah, she did always in her car. So she could leave in the car at any point in time. Yeah. After Jarrett laid out his version of events,

investigators quickly began poking holes in his story. Starting with the text, Megan had sent Grace, warning that Jarrett was going to kill her. We ended up getting some text messages that Megan sent some of her friends. What in the world do you think that's about? I don't know. She was very dramatic. You can see why she was very much.

With everything, I don't know. So at any point, do you have a gun to her head? No. Tell her you. No. I don't have a gun. Oh, no. But not, no.

You ain't got a gun. No, I don't have a gun. Jarrett tried to explain away Megan's text message as her being over-dramatic. He insisted he didn't have a gun and couldn't have shot her even if he wanted to. What a strange thing to say. But Jarrett had a big problem. Investigators had already gone through his phone and on it was a, fitness app, one that tracked his movements on the night of the murder. What a dumbass.

I'm good at tracking people on the phones and looking at health data, and that tells a lot about what someone does, and we got your health data for you that night. So around 10 p.m.ish, give or take, it's got you, you're doing a lot of walking from 10 to, um, I mean, for a good solid hour. Back in, I mean, a lot of walking where we're looking at over, over a mile and a half of distance covered. Like, not just making circles in the yard, but a lot of walking. Like, you walk down the road and things like that.

Where would you have been going at that point? Looking where? Now where? No way. Went back from the shit to the house. Yeah. Well, that ain't, yeah. Here's the thing. I went through your health data for the whole day and analyzed it,

and I can see, you know, the short distance, stuff like that. These are massive movements. This is not like you're just walking to and from the shed or even walking to, like, to and from your parents probably. This is like massive amounts of walking. Based on the data in Jarrett's phone, investigators had pieced together a clear picture of what happened. They believed Jarrett had driven Megan to a... burn site, set the car on fire, and then walked back to his house.

What I want to know, I mean, I feel like there's more to it that you're just not telling us. And I just want to know that something else happened between you and Megana? Did she do anything to you? This is our... There's nothing like that done. I told other people that was... I mean, I'll tell you how everything that happened at night. I got it.

And I feel like you've told me a good bit. Just feel like we're leaving out just a little bit. bit of key details because during some of this this all this walking was from 10 p.m.ish to little after 11. I don't think Megan's at the house at that time. I think Megan's already gone. It looks like you were walking back from Turnray Road and back to your house. You know where turn railroad is? Yes, where they found, I mean, y'all trying to say I went to put Megan there I didn't. I'm putting you there

because I believe we have some coordinates that puts you at Turnray Road. GPS phone data placed Jared at the burn site on the night Megan went missing. And yet, he denied ever being there or ever hurting her.

So we have your GPS data showing you there. We also have pinpoint data that shows you over there. And then conveniently, when those dots are plotted, I have your activity going the same distance from Turnway Road back to your house. Like on foot.

So, I mean, we're not stupid. We know what happened, but this is your time to just tell us what happened. Explain why. What happened to make this happen? No, but listen to listen to me. Something happened that night. She might have just pissed you off driving you nuts. There's nothing like that.

Here's the thing. We know what happened. we know what happened Because I didn't do anything too much. Despite irrefutable evidence placing him at the scene, Jared insisted he had not hurt Megan.

Obviously, investigators weren't buying it. Data doesn't lie. And that's kind of where I'm at. So I think we're at the point where, you know, we know something happened. And you just, you want your story to stick, but it's just not sticking.

That's what happened. This is, I mean, what's happening? We all know something happened. We just need to move on from that and figure out what happened and why so we can understand what happened and see going to figure this out. Nothing happened. Between me and her

nothing happened. When she left, when I was changing, baby, she was well alive. She was too kicking, breathing, mad, she was still alive. She injured? No. She hurt? No. I mean, I'm no rocket scientist,

but everything that I have here from you, you from your phone, from your activity, everything from what people are saying is all adding up that conveniently where her car is found burnt is matching up with your location on the map specifically. And then y'all's phones are together. How is all of this just conveniently adding up? But then something didn't happen.

You know what I'm saying? We're together all the time. We're together. Throughout this interview, Jared Conneutral. continued to deny any involvement as investigators kept pressing him for the truth. They eventually reminded him that one day he would have to explain his obviously made-up story to the child he shared with Megan. So you're going to tell your baby one day that you walked from Turnway Road where this

was at back to your house conveniently. I didn't walk from Turnray Road. I don't know why you're holding on to the story. I'm not holding, there's nothing I'm holding on to. Things here, there's no question. There's no question. Like I didn't do anything to Megan at all. Did something happen to it before?

No, when she left, she was fine. Did something accidentally happen? No, but just what I'm telling you, there's nothing that happened. Jared, something happened. Nothing happened, between me and Megan, nothing happened. Did some happen between her and somebody else that you know about? No. Okay, Jared, there's, you're not, there's more to it, and you're just not telling us.

No, there's not. As this interview came to an end, Investigators laid out pretty much every bit of evidence that proved Jarrett's guilt. But he never confessed. The last anyone heard from Megan was 950, and then we have your story. And what was that message that was said at 950? I know what I said. I know what it said.

So you know what that said? Yeah. What is it said? And I had a gun and I was going to kill her. And if you don't hear if I'm a call, well. Yep, so 948. Jared's about to kill me. If you don't hear from me in 30 minutes, call the law.

6.42 Gant Branch Road. And then at 10 o'clock, we have you in that area where our vehicles found. Jared, what happened? Nothing happened. That's honest, God, truth. Nothing happened between me and Megan. Jared, we've talked to everyone. Your story does not match anyone else's.

You're excluding some very key points. What are you excluding? Pretty much the time where Megan was killed. you're leaving that part out I didn't kill her that's what you don't understand I didn't kill her what happened

how did she die I don't know why would she tell someone you're about to kill her and then she died that night I don't know everything points to you so

the only thing we can do is get an understanding on why I didn't do it though that's a name don't want to be me so bad. I don't. I just want it. I wanted to be whoever did it.

That's the thing. The problem is a song pointing towards you. Investigators wrapped up the interview and sent Jarrett back to his cell. But less than 24 hours later, after stewing in there and realizing how obvious it all was, he asked to speak with them again. When this follow-up interview started, Jarrett said, seems ready to confess. So you can get back in the house, kind of tell me what happens.

I'm just still arguing. And when we left that night, you go up to the gas station, she was still alive. Okay. When I turned around, we went back to the house, we were still in the out there by the cars.

And I had 38, okay? And whenever we was arguing, I was going to go shoot myself. And then we was arguing, she grabbed it. When she grabbed it, she pulled it to her,

so what about me? and just let it went off. Okay. And when it went off, it just all happened so fast. I understand. Well, I told you know that I felt like something happened. Yeah.

It wasn't like I tried to kill her or not living. When she grabbed it and pulled it to her, it just went off. Okay. And then there was so much bloods she didn't have poles. Jarrett changed his story. He now claimed that during an argument he pulled out a gun while Megan was sitting in her car. According to him, Megan grabbed it, turned it on herself, and while it was still in his hand with his finger on the trigger, it went off. You're standing beside her car?

Yeah. And you got a gun. How do you have to go? I said to go. Just holding it just in my hand. Okay. You should tell her how you were going. And we were talking and just yelling back of course, she'd grab it and just pull it to her and says, what about nothing suicide?

said, what about me? And it just went off. Gotcha. She just went well. Had you threatened to shoot yourself or anything, or harm yourself? Yeah. So I was just trying to get her to leave.

Essentially, Jared's story was this. His girlfriend shot herself with the gun he was holding. He claimed that after this happened, he initially intended to take Megan to a hospital. But somehow he didn't. He didn't. He decided it. was a lost cause because she was already dead.

So instead, you know, why not burn the car down with her body inside? Yeah, that makes sense, Jarrett. You fuck? What did you do? I grabbed her and I started yelling and there was some blood and checked the pulse and she didn't have pulse. I went to go take her to the hospital, but she was already gone. All right. Did you take her out of the driver's seat or out of the post?

How did you take her to hospital? I just screwed over. You just kind of slid her, slid her inside her? Yeah. Okay. Where was the baby at then? Did you lead the baby home panicky or do you? No, the baby's already in a seat from less going earlier.

I got you. So she hadn't even taken the baby out of the seat in the car. Okay. Horrifically, Jarrett claimed that when Megan shot herself in the driver's seat, their baby was in the backseat of the car. Surprisingly, investigators didn't push back on this story. Perhaps they didn't need to. Between what Jarrett told them and their evidence,

they had more than enough to charge him with murder. Let a jury sort it all out. Arrest warrants from sleds say Davis shot and murdered Megan on April 25th in the Jens Branch Road area. Afterwards, he set her car on fire with her inside. I obtained a copy of that search warrant Thursday. It says the sheriff's office seized an iPhone, multiple security cameras, a laptop, and a baby monitor,

all in the hopes that those items and video evidence could provide some clue as to what happened to Bautiford. As part of Jarrett's arrest and accompanying search warrant, deputies see several things from his property, including footage from his deer cams. If you're not familiar, a deer cam is basically just a surveillance camera meant for observing wildlife. But in this case, it captured something else entirely.

It recorded much of what happened on the day Megan was killed. And in yet another interview, investigators confronted Jarrett with what the footage revealed. Been working on this nonstop, and I appreciate you manning up in times what you did tell us. We've just got a couple inconsistencies we need to clear up. what you told us don't match. You want to just get it off your chest and tell us what really happened. And I can show you the video. What I mean?

I would. You chasing her gown, dragging her lifeless body back to the car and fumbling and trying to get it in the car. You can shoot her in the car like you said. The footage showed a violent confrontation between Jarrett and Megan. Then at around 10 p.m., Jared chased her. off-camera with a gun in his hand. Minutes later, he reappeared, dragging Megan's lifeless body across the yard, struggling to lift it into her vehicle.

Then, covered in blood, he drove away with her body. A short time later, Jarrett returned and started burning clothes and washing blood from the ground. Do you want to tell me what really happened? Well, the gun did accident to go off. I didn't, that wasn't, that wasn't an accident. That, honestly, wasn't an accident. You chased her down with a gun.

I mean, she knew you had that gun because she come out there door and saw that gun and took off running. No, she got off running because I had her keys. She was going to the neighbor's house. Once again, Jarrett tried to spin this story as an accident. But, come on. Who's going to buy that? People that are dumb, think you're dumb too. Jarrett is living proof.

We were walking back. She was yelling, and I was walking back, and then I turned to her, and I just wouldn't put my hands up. I just wanted to really, I would grab a face until she'd chill out, and you got it went off. How long did it pay her back? to me it would make no sounds no nothing so she never saw a comment of course if Jarrett's story were true and that's a big if he would still have to explain why he went to such lengths

to hide the evidence why didn't you call us I'm scared honestly if it's an accident I mean I mean not at all honestly but I was scared change your clothes on the how many times then the black ski mask and black clothes what was all that for it to get back to the house

and people might recognize you yeah and you still want to say that you just lit some clothes and didn't use an accelerant because mind you sled arson has completed their report on the findings of the vehicle and the ground and everything else

so what did you use to set the fire oil oil Between the phone data, the camera footage, the autopsy, and the arson report, Jared's story had fallen apart. But one important question remained. Was anyone else involved? And did Jared have help covering it up?

Now, after you get back and does Earl and Daniel come over there? Yeah, that's true too. Yeah, that's true. Do you tell anybody? I tell us old. Eventually, investigators determined that the rumors of others being involved in Megan's death were just that. Rumors. There's a lot of them on the Internet.

People have nothing better to do these days, it seems. They never found out if there was anybody else involved. So, you know, the investigation is still open. All I can say is that, you know, with everything that we have ran down, we have done alibis and everyone, I don't. believe anyone else is outstanding. I think everyone involved is in custody, has been charged unless we find some evidence that proves that someone else is involved, but there is nothing that is indicating, and like, you know, people have thrown out Falcon Joyner, all these other people, you know, I have ran down everyone's whereabouts,

everything like that, and no one is showing to be involved. As of right now, I do not have any evidence of anyone else being involved. Ultimately, investigators concluded, that Jarrett had acted alone, and he ended up facing the consequences of his actions alone as well. First at six, a Bamberg County man is charged with the murder of his girlfriend, a 25-owned mother of three who was reported missing last week after sending an ominous text to a friend. Jared Davis is facing multiple charges, including murder and desecration of human remains. Megan Botaford, a Bamberg County mother of three, vanishes after texting a friend that she worried her boyfriend

may kill her. Eight days after sending that text, the boyfriend, Jared Davis, is now being charged with her murder. Arrest warrants allege that Davis shot and killed Baudiford last Thursday night, and then set her car on fire while she was inside. Human remains were found in a burnt car days later along a dirt road beneath some utility poles, that discovery less than two miles from Baudiford's last known location on Gens Branch Road. Jarrett did not take the case to trial. He pleaded guilty to murder possession of a firearm during a violent crime, arson, and desecration of human remains. He was sentenced to 43 years in prison and could potentially be released in his early 70s.

That is, unless some retroactive law passed by some bleeding heart in the future, changes that. Anyway, it's a sentence that just doesn't feel like. enough, especially when you consider that Megan's three daughters will grow up without their mother. For Megan's family, this was a measure of justice, but certainly not an adequate one. It just wasn't enough. Because in their eyes, what happened to Megan should never happen at all. They believe Jarrett was responsible, but they also believe this could have been prevented if the system had done its job. We're tired of it.

We're tired of burying our kids and our friends' kids. And it's time for the law to do their job. If the law better do their job, because this community is fed up. The murder of Megan Badaford is especially frustrating because her abusive and idiot loser boyfriend shouldn't have been a free man in the first place. At the time of the murder, there was an active warrant out for his arrest. and it's not like he was hiding. He was sitting there at home, drinking beers and watching Netflix, I assume.

The very place where Megan would later be killed. Would it have taken much effort to send a police officer down there to pick them up? Or were they having a sale at Dunkin' Donuts that day? Another warrant accuses Davis of illegally possessing a shotgun based on his prior criminal history as a convicted felon. If he would have, he was supposed to be the first time, maybe he wouldn't have even gotten a chance to get this far with her. Plus, the many warning signs were there. Megan had reached out for help more than once. She reported the abuse.

She made it known that she was afraid, even contacting Jarrett's probation officer in an effort to get someone to step in. A probation officer who should have lost their first. fucking job, I might add. But the system is the system and nothing changed, of course, other than you getting an hour of so-called entertainment today. It's frustrating. I wish I never had to make this episode. I wish I never had content to make this entire podcast. That would be a happy day in my book. Stephanie Nickens, Bauderford's cousin, says she feels like law enforcement failed in its duty to protect Botterford. It could have been prevented.

It could have. It definitely could have. My cousin, Megan, she called his probation officer. She called police multiple times. It's just different occasions where she reached out for help. Nicken says that she hopes Bauterford will be remembered for how she lived and not her tragic death. Her cousin says that she hopes Bauterford will be remembered for how she lived and not her tragic death. Her cousin says that She had a beautiful soul and was a wonderful mother.

This murder wasn't a mystery. Not really. It was the end of something that had been building for a long time. All of the warning signs were there, stamped and certified by the local authorities, I might add. Reports were made. The fear was real. And still, nothing stopped it. Can we stop telling men to do better and start voting better?

To put assholes like this in a cage and throw away the key? That would be good. That would be real good. Prison overcrowding my ass. We'll build more. We have the technology. Jared Davis pulled the trigger. He dragged the body.

He set it on fire. All of this is true. but he didn't get there in a vacuum. He was given time, he was given opportunity, and space to escalate. And by the time anyone stepped in, it was already too late.

Megan tried to get help. She told people she was in danger. She said he was going to kill her. And in the end, she was right. That doesn't. for this episode of Sword and Scale. If you are a victim of domestic violence, do not wait.

Call 1-800-799-7233. That's 1-800-799-7-233. Or you can text the word begin to 88788. Again, text the word begin to 88788. Please, stay safe. Well, that does it for yet another one, another episode of Sword and Scale. Yep, we're always here. You can always count on us to come back and deliver more true crime entertainment for you.

Now, can we count on you also to help us do that? Head on over to Swordenscale.com and throw a few bucks our way, won't you? Quit being a communist. Shit costs money in this world. Finite resources. It's just the way it is.