The Misery Machine - 2+ Hours Of The Worst Moms Your Parents Warned You About (The Misery Machine Plus Episode)

Episode Date: December 2, 2025

In the world of true crime, some cases don’t just shock us... they shake us to our core. They leave us wondering how anyone could cross a line so sacred, so unthinkable, that it defies every instinct we have as human beings.Today’s video is a deep dive into some of the most disturbing and heartbreaking cases in recent memory... crimes committed not by strangers, not by intruders, but by the very people meant to protect their children: their mothers.This is the story of Chevonne Thomas, DeAsia Watkins, Monica McCarrick, Julissa Thaler, and Averyauna Enoch... five women whose names have become synonymous with betrayal, violence, and the darkest corners of the human mind. Their cases shocked their communities, devastated entire families, and sparked nationwide outrage.Across the next two hours, we’re going to examine each case with the seriousness and respect these young victims deserve. We’ll walk through the events leading up to each tragedy, the red flags, the warnings, the system failures, and the horrifying final moments that no child should ever endure.This is not a video about mystery. This is not a video about suspense.This is a video about accountability, outrage, and the uncomfortable truth that sometimes the greatest danger comes from inside the home.Viewer discretion is strongly advised. These are cases that will stay with you... cases you will wish never existed. But remembering these children matters. Saying their names matters. And refusing to look away from the truth… matters most of all.Support Our Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PayPal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join Our Facebook Group: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: miserymachinepodcastTwitter: misery_podcastDiscord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#themiserymachine #podcast #truecrimeSource Material Available Upon Request.

Hey guys, this is our official compilations channel. If you want to check out our newest videos as soon as they're uploaded, then check out our main channel, The Misery Machine. Callie Kiani Armella Anderson was born on September 27th, 2012. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th,

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princess and wish she could have gotten custody of the baby so she could have spent more time with her. Not much is known about what Callie liked, and the reasons for that will become more clear as we tell her story. But we can make some guesses based on the pictures available. She might have liked Hello Kitty and Minnie Mouse since she was photographed wearing a cute pink Hello Kitty shirt in one photo and large Minnie Mouse ears in another. She liked drinking out of her sippy cup with a straw. Several pictures her mother posted show her mid-sip grinning at the camera with the straw in her mouth. And she was a good older sister, carefully holding her younger brother in her lap in a photo, both of them smiling. Before Callie was even born, trouble was brewing. The situation that she was born

into, think of the worst after-school special filled with every type of trouble adults try to warn teens about. Though he was only 17, Tyler had already gotten in trouble for using and selling illegal substances. Leone and Tyler had dated briefly, but they had broken up when he met Avriana Enoch. Avriana had recently returned to California. She had been sent to live with her mother in Ohio at age 13 because she was getting in trouble and struggling with mental health issues. After two years in Ohio, she ran away from home in October of 2011 and made her way back across the country to California. Her grandmother let her move back in and helped her get on medication to treat her bipolar disorder. While living with her grandma, she enrolled the

same high school that Tyler attended, and they started dating in February of 2012, but soon after Leani, Tyler's ex-girlfriend, realized that she was pregnant with his child. According to Avriana's friends, she was upset when she found out Tyler had gotten another teenage girl pregnant, and the couple had a huge blowout fight. Tyler claimed the argument stressed him out to the point that he had to violate his parole and use illegal substances. He got caught under the influence and was sent to inpatient rehab, which is where he was when Callie was born. Tyler's mother, Donna Howard, was excited to be a grandmother and wanted her son to be involved in little Callie's life. She spoke to Leani and got permission to take

the baby to visit Tyler in rehab. Or into Tyler, Avriana was angry and very jealous when she heard he met his baby. A couple months later, he got a furlough at Christmas and used his time on the outside to visit Callie, and this made Avriana even more furious because she wanted him to visit her instead of his own baby. Despite her unreasonable jealousy, Tyler still continued his relationship with Avriana and moved in with her after he was released in March of 2013. A few months later, he took a trip to visit his mother and see Callie. While he was gone, Avriana made threats and eventually ended up in the emergency room

after attempting to remove herself from the earth. Meanwhile, Tyler and Liani were involved in custody hearings, and Avriana suggested Tyler might be more likely to win full custody if the couple got married. So eventually they did. She took his last name, changing her name to Avriana Anderson. Callie's case ended up in arguably the worst courtroom possible in front of Judge Sinda Riggins Unger. According to a Salana County Advocate organization, this judge, who is since retired, was known to be biased toward giving custody to the father, no matter how unprepared for fatherhood he might seem to be. There had been attempts to recall her from her position because of her bias, but those attempts all failed.

One advocate told reporters, and I quote, this isn't shocking. I've seen Unger give custody to many male drug addicts and males just released from jail or prison. It really didn't matter what she did, and Unger's courtroom, she didn't stand a chance. Despite his recent struggles in rehab stint, in October 2013, Judge Unger awarded Tyler and Avriana full-color. of the 13-month-old Callie. Leone continued to fight, but she didn't have the money to afford the type of lawyer that could take on this judge, and she wasn't even given shared custody. However, she was only allowed to visit at a government facility.

She posted pictures online of one such visit. In the images, Callie toddled around in a pink and blue monkey onesie, played with toys, and hunted for Easter eggs. According to Tyler, their life as a family was good at first. They moved into a new apartment in Woodland, California. Woodland, California. Tyler worked a lot and he was trying to go to school, so Avriana watched Cali most of the time. He said she seemed to love the girl and tried to teach her how to read and taught her how to run alongside with her play vacuum cleaner when Avriana was sweeping the apartment. Now, Tyler's mother, Donna, did not approve of this and told Avriana not to play house

with her son. Donna's warnings fell on deaf ears, though, and soon Avriana stopped taking her medication in the hopes that she could get more easily pregnant. Callie had her second birthday in September of 2014, and Avriana's first son with Tyler was born a little more than a month later on October 31st. Once she had her own baby, Avriana's jealous behavior intensified. She thought Tyler's family cared more about Callie than they did about her son, and family members started to notice that Callie was getting injured more than usual. She always had an excuse, though, that Callie was clumsy like her dad, that she fell chasing her brother, or that she bumped her head while Avriana was changing the younger boy's diaper.

In November, Tyler's aunt, Maline Duenas, visited the couple's apartment to meet the new baby boy and was disturbed by what she witnessed there. Maling was holding the baby when Callie tried to run towards her, excited to see her aunt, but on the way, Averyana shoved her and caused her to fall down and cry. When Maline asked her why she would do something like that, Averyana told her, she was going to hurt my baby boy. She thought Tyler's family was too soft on their kids, and she preferred the type of discipline that she had experienced growing up.

She said, if you talk back, I'm going to pop you in the mouth. In December, Tyler took Callie to the doctors for a checkup. She weighed about 28 pounds of that visit, and the doctor also scheduled a follow-up appointment with a cardiologist. Tyler canceled that appointment and never made a new one. On various occasions, Avriana said it was Tyler's responsibility to get medical attention for his kid, and also claimed she couldn't take her to the doctors because she didn't have a medical card for her. For the next year, Tyler's family began to see

more and more injuries on the little girl, and they noticed she was losing weight as well. Well, Tyler's mother, Donna and his aunt, Maline, said they didn't get to see Callie as much as they wanted to. If Rihanna wouldn't allow Tyler or anyone else to post pictures of her on social media because she disliked Leani so much that she didn't even want her to be able to see pictures of her little girl. On the few occasions she sent photos of Callie to Donna and Maline, the images were always blurry and in black and white instead of color. Though she never admitted it, it seems likely she also didn't want Leani or anyone else to have proof of any cuts or bruises that Callie had. The family still saw Callie in person or at a few family functions. One party, Donna

and Maline said they noticed crescent-shaped cuts on both sides of Callie's face that looked like fingernail marks. In the past, they had both seen Avriana grab Callie by the head and face and thought the injuries they saw were caused by her digging her fingernails in. At another party, they noticed face paint or makeup rubbing off when they kissed Callie. As the concealer wore off, they saw that she had bruises on her cheek. In April of 2015, Callie suffered a serious burn to the palm of her hand while Avriana was watching her. Tyler said he came home and saw Kelly's left hand. It was saran wrapped. It had olive oil and Vaseline on it. Avriana told Tyler it happened accidentally when she was helping the little girl wash her hands, but she told Tyler he had to lie to his family

and tell them that he was the one who burned her hand because they already thought Avriana was mean to her. Sure enough, when he met his family at a holiday party, Tyler claimed he told everyone that he had been mopping the floor when Kelly accidentally stuck her hand in the mop bucket and got burned. When Maylene tried to feed Callie a treat, Avriana snapped at her, yelling, Don't feed her that. We don't want her to get fat. At another party in October of 2015, the family noticed that Callie had lost a lot of weight.

But it was warm outside. She was dressed in a long-sleeved, baggy sweatsuit, and had a bruise on her right cheek that had been covered up with concealer. She was also acting differently. She wasn't playing with the other kids, didn't talk to anyone and mostly stayed close to Avriana. When no one was looking, she was eating food off of other people's plates, devouring it in a way that made them think that she was starving.

Worried about the now three-year-old girl, Aunt Maylene contacted Child Protective Services, and on October 15, 2015, filed the report saying she suspected CA and neglect. The agency subsequently launched an investigation. When CPS asked about the burn, Tyler and Avriana told them a different story. They said the water heater in their apartment had leaked, that Callie had burned her hand from the hot water that leaked out of it. Social workers were concerned the couple were using excessive or inappropriate discipline, but couldn't find any direct proof of violence.

So they closed the case and labeled it inconclusive. After the case was closed, Avriana's friend, Jaila Young Riley, also noticed Callie acting in an unusual manner. At a get-together at a local park, she noticed Callie constantly looking at Avriana any time anyone asked her. a question, as if she was trying to figure out what she was supposed to say. She also said the girl was stiff as a board and standing unusually still, as if afraid to move. While another parent might have seen a CPS investigation as a warning to be a little less harsh, it was at this point, Averyana seemed to ramp up her discipline even more. Even though reports are anonymous, Averyana suspected Tyler's family had something to do with the investigation and wanted to get

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In July of 2017, they moved out of state to Reno, Nevada. Leone tried to stop the move or at least ensure she got more visitation rights with Callie, but the court decided against her. In Reno, both Tyler and Avriana started erasing traces of Callie from their life. Though they listed her name on some forms, they didn't mention her on others. She was listed on the rental agreement at the Brook Tree apartment complex, but the manager said she'd never seen the couple with a little girl. girl. While living in Reno, Avriana gave birth to another boy. Tyler's mom, Donna,

visited to drop off a bassinet and meet the new baby. She saw her grandsons, but when she asked where Callie was, she was told they had dropped her off at a 24-hour daycare facility. The next day, she and Tyler went out to lunch, and he brought Callie with him. Donna said Callie looked ill and thin, and that she wasn't as happy and outgoing as she usually was. But she and Maline had already tried to call CPS, and all it had done was drive the family further away. The end of the visit, she hugged Callie one last time, then made the two-hour drive back to Sacramento. After the birth of their second baby, Tyler said Avriana wanted to get a dog, so allegedly they got a dog and named it Maverick. Avriana said he was a sweet dog that was good with the kids, but Tyler said he wasn't good

with people and that they had to keep him locked up in a crate in the bathroom most of the time. there were few visitors to the apartment and none of those visitors ever saw the dog or heard it barking. This is important because what the couple said happened over the next few months is probably not what actually happened. Now, having a dog could explain the dog crate, but it wouldn't explain the human handcuffs that were attached to it. It is much more likely they're both still lying to avoid telling the truth of what happened to Cali in that apartment over the next two years. Tyler said Avriana became more aggressive than the punishments she gave Callie. He said she would use belts, she would use wooden spoons, she would use brushes and combs. You know, she would just, she wouldn't stop, you know, I'd have to stop her.

When he would stop her, Avriana would accuse him of taking Callie's side and interfering with her discipline. She would tell him that she hit her younger brothers and needed to be punished to keep them safe. On one occasion, he said, she had the belt and I get in front of her and I'm holding it around the back. She's trying to climb over me to get to her. She's telling me, you know, you always save her. You can't always save her. He said their arguments over Callie would get so vicious that Avriana would kick him and Callie out of the apartment in the middle of the night shouting, take your dumb ass baby with you.

He may have sometimes tried to protect Callie, but there were plenty of times that he went along with her idea of discipline too. Text on his phone showed that she sent him a video of Callie standing in the corner with her arms raised, while she threatened to hurt her if she put them down. She sent him messages like, Dummy is back in the corner, shaking my damn head, and caught her dumb ass playing. When you get home, we'll whoop her little butt. His reply to that text was,

10-4, corner pocket until then. Tyler said he was away from home a lot. He was working two jobs every day and taking college classes too. He said he had told Avriana she couldn't hit Cali anymore, but when he came home one day, he saw that she'd started using a new, crueler form of punishment. He said, I go to the bathroom, right? She's in there and she's got Callie and Maverick's cage.

You know, the first thing I do is get her out of the cage. So she goes, she's not crying, and she's not hurt, and she's not bruised. You know, what the hell is she doing in that cage? Avriana said she pushed her brother. They were drifting apart as a couple, but still sometimes did illegal substances together in order to feel close and like they did when they were younger. And they were under the influence together. Sometimes Avriana would tell Tyler things she did to Callie. He said she would sometimes put frozen bags of vegetables on the little girl's injuries so the bruises wouldn't show when Tyler got home. She told him the things she would say to Callie, including making her lie to her dad, he said, I would call while I would be at work when I'm

starting. When we're staying out here, I'm working two jobs, so I'd call to talk to my kids, you know, because I miss them and I hardly spend time with them. And she said she would leave Callie in the room. And when I called, she would go in there and she'd give Callie the phone and I'd be on speakerphone and she'd be telling Callie what to say to me, that she's playing with her brother and that she's eating, she's watching TV. And Avriana said she would have her lie and she would leave her in there, in her room. And then, you know, she said she'd cry out for you and Avriana would go in there and tell her, your daddy doesn't love you. Nobody loves you.

The person that gave birth to you doesn't even love you. Your daddy doesn't love you. If he did, he'd be here with you. So shut the fuck up. Even when describing her utter cruelty, he still went along with Averyana's claim that they kept Callie in her room. Exema is unpredictable. But you can flare less with Epglyz, a once-monthly treatment for moderate to severe eczema. After an initial four-month- or longer dosing phase, about four-and-10 people taking Euglis achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks.

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Avriana's friend Jala visited the apartment on several occasions, and in December of 2017, she even spent a night sleeping on the couch in the apartment's living room. She saw Callie's room while she was there, but Callie was never in it. She noted there wasn't even a bed in the little girl's room and no toys or any other sign of her in there, but there was a big king-sized mattress in the boys' room. When she asked why Callie didn't have a bed, Avriana said she didn't deserve one because she always wet herself. Instead, she said Callie slept on a chair in the living room, but Jala never saw her there. Jaila saw both of the boys when she visited, but she never saw Callie.

When she asked where Callie was, Avriana said, She was with her grandma, but this was not true. She had never been allowed to visit Tyler's family. When she visited in December, Avriana told her that Callie was at a 24-hour daycare, but no record of her attending any such daycare was ever found. Jaila said the apartment was clean and tidy when she visited. At one point, she tried to use the guest bathroom, but both Tyler and Avriana, and I'm quoting her here, screamed at her, and told her she had to use the master bathroom

attached to their bedroom instead. They said there was a huge dog in there. It was too dangerous to enter the bathroom because of that dog. Jaila found this odd because she never heard any barking and she never once saw a dog. During the time she stayed there, no one took it out of the bathroom for a walk and no one entered the bathroom to feed or care for it. During the December visit, Jala met a man named Tyrese at a local Applebee's. Later that night, they went to the one-up club with Avriana.

Jail and Tyrese had a brief hookup, but she wasn't able to spend the night with him because he didn't have anywhere to go. After Jaila returned to California, Avriana began an affair with Tyrese, and they were intimate in her apartment twice in December while Tyler was at work. In January, she told Tyrese she was pregnant with his baby, but that seemed to be a lie. He continued a relationship with her for the next two months, visiting the apartment a number of times. The guest bathroom was blocked off with a short dresser, and he said Avriana told him he couldn't use it because it was too messy. He knew she was married and saw two boys when he visited, but he never saw a little girl. When he asked if she had any stepchildren, she said she had a step kid, but it was not her child.

Over the next few months, Avriana's mental state deteriorated along with her marriage to Tyler. In addition to her relationship with Tyrese, she was also using Tinder to find dates. She was disconnected and often under the influence of substances. She wasn't taking adequate care of the boys or the apartment. The fridge and pantry were almost empty. and she wasn't buying food, even though she had wick and she could use it to buy food and basic items. She stopped cleaning up, so the apartment was filthy with trash, diapers, rotten food, and items strewn everywhere. Both Tyler and Avriana claimed that Callie was suffering from some sort of stomach issue that got worse in April, but neither of them ever took her to a doctor to get help.

Or in Avriana, Callie said her stomach hurt and had been vomiting a couple times a month for a long period of time, perhaps ever since they moved to Reno. She said she googled her symptoms on the internet and was watching what she ate. According to Tyler, Averyana had it all under control. He said she told him, I'm the family doctor. I take care of my family. I'm a stay-at-home mom. That's what I do.

I can figure it out. She said she didn't take Callie to the doctors because that was Tyler's job and because Callie's symptoms often got better after a couple days, according to her. At some point, most likely on April 26 or 27th, Callie stopped breathing. On April 26, Averyana used her iPad to search for CPR, which, along with other evidence, led authorities to believe that the couple weren't telling the whole truth. However, both Tyler and Averyana said that Callie died on May 4th, and they both told different stories about what happened.

One thing that was common in both versions was that they never called a doctor or an ambulance or got any help for the five-year-old girl. They also kept her hidden from sight and isolated from anyone who could have gotten her, her help. None of the neighbors could call for help because they had never seen her and didn't know she existed. According to Tyler, he got home from work around 5 p.m. and walked there, most likely imaginary dog. When he got back, he said, Avriana told him she had something to show him. He said, she goes into our son's room and brings out Callie in her hands, in her arms. She was lifeless, you know, limp lifeless. She wasn't breathing, so I started doing CPR. In his version,

of the story, both he and Avriana tried to do CPR while their other kids cried and the dog barked. He was really committed to mentioning the dog. Tyler continued his story saying, I tell her it's not working. We need to call an ambulance. She said, no, you're not going to call an ambulance. I can't go to prison. If you call an ambulance, I'm going to fucking kill you. You have to save your daughter.

You know CPR. You're certified. You have a card. You have to save your daughter. So I grabbed my phone. I said, I'm going to call an ambulance. I can't help her, you know, and she's snatching the phone for me. She throws it at the pantry or at the wall.

It hits the pantry. Whatever, it hits the floor. I'm just talking to Callie saying, please breathe. Her eyes are open, but she's not blinking. He thought he performed CPR for an hour and a half to three hours before he heard Callie's heart stopped beating. He claimed he tried to leave the apartment to get help, but Avriana blocked the door. Once he was sure she was dead, he said he put Callie in a duffel bag,

then went to talk to Avriana who was smoking something in the bathroom. He said, she's asking me, you know, what are you going to do, Tyler? What's your plan? This is your fault. I say, I need to tell somebody. I need help. She says, no, you aren't going to tell anybody. You tell somebody, her brothers are going to get taken away.

This is God's plan, you know? In his version of this story, Avriana made him bundle up evidence of the crime like the rug Callie died on in the sweater he was wearing while performing CPR. He said she wouldn't let him out of her sight. They left their two young sons alone in the apartment while they disposed of the evidence in a dumpster. He also said Avriana forced him to keep Callie in the trunk of his car when he went to work so he wouldn't be tempted to turn on her and call the police while he was away from the apartment. Or into Tyler, Avriana said, no, you're not putting that in my house. You're going to keep that with you.

So if you try anything, I'm going to be able to call the police and tell them you have a body in your trunk. In Avriana's version of the story, Callie had lost what she called a considerable. amount of weight since the family moved to Reno because of health problems that made her vomit and struggled to digest food. Around 10 p.m. on May 4th, she went into Callie's room to feed her and found Callie immobile and unresponsive. The pulse was weak and her breathing was shallow. She brought her to Tyler and he tried to do CPR on her and put her in the shower to wake her up. That didn't work. They both tried to do CPR again, but she stopped breathing. Once they realized she was gone, they changed her clothes and he put her in a duffel bag in the closet. On April 12th,

Averyana used the same iPad she used to look up CPR to search the terms, liquids that deteriorate, acid, and storage units. That search happened six days before she and Tyler claimed that Callie died. According to Tyler, she was concocting all sorts of schemes to get rid of Callie, including setting her on fire under a bridge in woodland, leaving her on the train tracks, dissolving her in acid, and throwing her into the Sacramento River. As each day passed, the problem got worse and worse. They dumped carpet deodorizer over the duffel bag, sealed it in a large blue tub, and put the tub in a box with dryer sheets,

but nothing could cover the smell. By this point, she said her and Tyler's relationship was struggling. They were both frequently using substances, and they decided to separate. May 10th, the couple rented a U-Haul van, took it back to their apartment and loaded it up with several boxes. The next day, Tyler called a friend he had met in rehab, a man named Joe Garcia who operated a storage facility.

He told Joe he was moving back to Sacramento and asked if he could put a few things in one of Joe's storage units in preparation for the move. Joe agreed to help his friend out. Tyler made the two-hour drive in the U-Haul while Avriana and the two boys followed in her white hatchback. He met Joe and Joe's daughter, Charlene, at the storage facility, but his visit was short. Joe said Tyler unloaded three boxes from the van into the storage unit, number one, zero-zero-five. While Tyler unloaded the boxes, Avriana sat parked across the street.

and watched from the car. He left quickly once the boxes were unloaded, and Avriana drove away after him. They drove back to Reno and returned the U-Haul van. Brett Weddelland worked at the U-Haul facility, and it was his job to clean the rentals after they were returned. He said that the smell in the van was unbearable and that Tyler had left sprinklings of white powder and an unidentified liquid behind. The van was very hard to clean. He wasn't able to remove all the residue Tyler left behind. Back in Sacramento, Joe had a bad feeling about the encounter, and his daughter Charlene thought Tyler had been acting suspiciously. It seemed like Tyler had come an awfully long way to store just a few items,

and both Joe and Charlene thought his demeanor had been strange. It's twitchy and acting guilty. Because they had met in rehab and had past issues with substance use, Joe was very worried the small boxes might contain drugs. He was on parole, he would get in a lot of trouble if anything like that was found on his property. His daughter, Charlene said he should open up the boxes and look, and after worrying about it for a little bit, he finally did. Using a knife, he cut into one of the boxes.

Inside, he found a blue barrel made of thick plastic. He opened the barrel and saw a duffel bag at the bottom, so he cut a hole in the bag. Through the hole, he saw what looked like the skeletal arm of a baby. Shaken, he called 911. He told the dispatcher. The other night, some guy, someone that I've known for a while, asked me if you could put some boxes in my storage, right? And so we were going through the stuff in the hell. He literally got, there's a baby in there.

Responding officers were confused when they first saw the contents of the barrel. The smell made them think it was human remains, but it was so tiny, it looked like a doll or an infant. Based on what they saw, they guessed the child was around six months old. They wanted to know if Joe had any children, and even worried there might be more children hidden in the storage facility, but eventually realized that Joe's only mistake was trying to help a friend out. Joe told them what he knew about Tyler, and officers began tracking the couple down. A few days later on May 16th, Tyler called Joe and asked to get back into the storage facility so he could store some more items. Joe let officers know, and they pulled Tyler over while

he was driving to the facility. They searched his car, they found lighter fluid and sticks in the trunk, which he was likely going to use to burn the remaining evidence of his crime. Officers arrested Tyler at the traffic stop, and other cops headed to the couple's apartment to arrest Avriana. When Reno Homicide Detective Ben Rose, and other officers arrived at the apartment. They split up to gather evidence and talked to witnesses. Officers talked to neighbors in the complex and many of them knew of and could describe the couple's two sons, but none of them had ever seen Cali, even though they had lived there

for almost a year. Detective Rhodes knocked on the apartment door, and when Avriana answered, she told him she had just woken up, even though it was 1.30 p.m. inside, he found Avriana and the two boys living in filth. He said, upon entry into the residence, I noted the apartment was extremely unkempt and in disarray as dirty clothing, food, and other various items were all over the floor throughout the apartment. Additionally, a mattress with food stains was located in the living room, and the kitchen area was unclean with dirty kitchenware and spoiling food left out all over the counters and floors.

Avriana stated she was home with her two children, who were observed to be in the bedroom. She told officers she had been using Coke earlier in the day, and she was in no-shaped be caring for the two boys, one of which was still a baby under a year old. During a search of the apartment, they found very little edible food in the pantry and mostly old condiments in the refrigerator. Officers contacted Washoe County CPS to get help for the boys who were eventually placed in foster care. The detective asked her how many children she had, and she said three. When they asked for Cali was, first she said she didn't know because she had just woken up. Then she said she was with Tyler's people. It took the officers some time to track Grandma Donna down and then Aunt

Maylene, but they were soon able to confirm no one from Tyler's family had seen the girl in over nine months. Though she wasn't arrested right away, officers took Avriana down to the police station for an interview. Once they had a search warrant, investigators continued searching the apartment. In the guest bathroom, they found a wired dog crate with a pair of handcuffs attached to it, but no dog in the bathroom or any other room in the apartment. In fact, despite all of the the mess, Detective Rhodes, didn't find anything that indicated a dog had ever been there. And his report, he said, it is also noteworthy to mention that there did not appear to be signs of a pet living in the residence, such as animal hair and feces amongst the apartment's

unkempt environment. They found clumps of hair and smears of feces on the floor of the bathroom, but they were from a human and not an animal. There was a dog collar in the medicine cabinet, empty dog bowls on the floor, and a small amount of dog food in a container. There was also stale and rotting human food in the bathroom, including part of a piece of pizza, a donut, and a hot dog bun. When I asked, Tyler said they fed the dog people food because they had run out of dog food. Detective Rhodes also searched the apartment for signs that a little girl was living there. He focused on finding her clothes, hair clips, or even toys. After much searching, he found a little girl's backpack with some of her clothes in it, including a hat that had her name on it.

All of those items were found in the guest bathroom, in the bathtub, next to the wire. cage. At the police station in Sacramento, Tyler talked to detectives for a couple of hours, but eventually asked for an attorney, so they had to stop questioning him. After officers stopped questioning him, they left the cameras recording. Once he was alone, he was recorded saying, I fucking killed her out loud to himself. At the police station in Reno, Avriana waited an interrogation room huddled on a couch and sometimes crying. Cameras also recorded her actions as she waited At several points, she kneeled against the couch and prayed out loud. Once detectives began questioning her, she tried to pretend that she didn't know anything.

She told them they went to Sacramento to get something I'm ashamed to talk about, but she didn't seem very ashamed when she claimed they went there to buy Coke. When officers asked about the U-Haul, she acted like she didn't know much. She said Tyler wanted to move a dresser because they were splitting up, and they talked a little about their troubled relationship. At one point while talking about how small and petite all her kids were, she said about Callie, she ate, slipping up and using the past tense to refer to her. She claimed she didn't know where Callie was and tried to make it seem like Tyler was

Callie's primary caretaker, but as officers poked holes in her story, she admitted to knowing more and more. Finally, after the detectives made it sound like Tyler was telling them his side of the story, she confessed that she was there the night Callie died. As much as possible, she was. She pointed the blame at Tyler. She insisted that Callie had been in her bedroom, the one without a bed and no toys or clothes that belonged to a little girl the night she died. She cried when the officers told her she was going to be arrested. They left the room. She knelt by the couch and prayed, saying, I don't deserve to go to jail for this. Oh, God, what did I do to deserve this? What did I do, God? I've done everything that you've asked me to, God. Introducing Taco Bell's new jalapeno citrus salsa with bright citrus, real red jalapinos. Guajillo chilis.

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participating stores only while supplies lastly out for full terms. On the advice of his attorney, Tyler did not share details with the police until much later. 5th, 2019. He was arrested the day he was questioned and made a phone call to his mother that night. Grandma Donna told him she hoped the truth would come out. His reply was chilling. He said, it's going to come out and it's not going to be what everybody wants to hear. The truth is going to come out and it's not going to be pretty, you know. It's going to be the truth and it is what it is. It is what it is. A phrase we might use when dinner doesn't turn out right or we make a typo in an email,

but it holds a very different weight when using it to describe the death of a young child. After his arrest, Tyler was held in the Sacramento County main jail before being extradited back to Reno where he joined Avriana who was being held at the Washout County Jail. Neither of them were allowed to post bail. They were charged with open murder, CA with substantial bodily harm, and destroying concealing evidence. The charge of open murder meant the DA could determine the degree at a later date. date. As primary caregiver, Averyana was eventually charged with first-degree murder, and Tyler was

charged with second-degree murder. At one of Tyler's hearings, his father, Brett Anderson, showed his support for his son by calling out, love you, son. Later, he told reporters, I love her, I love him. It was an accident. Brett seemed to believe his son was innocent because he told reporters they would understand when they heard his boy's side of the story. He said, it's going to be an interesting story when he gets the chance to tell it. It seems unlikely that Brett would have been so hopeful if he had known more about what had happened. In March of 2019, Tyler and Avriana both entered Not Guilty Please. A month later, Tyler filed for divorce and when it was finalized in August,

Avriana changed her last name back to Enoch. In July, Tyler finally agreed to tell police his version of the events surrounding Callie's death. He admitted he found her in the dog crate on one occasion, claimed that otherwise she was kept in her room. He also continued to insist that the dog existed and was kept in the guest bathroom. On January 24, 2020, Tyler and Avriana both pled guilty to their charges and were scheduled for sentencing on June 17th in front of Judge Kathleen Dracalich. At the June hearing, Avriana was scheduled to be sentenced first. Her negotiated sentence for first-degree murder was life with the possibility of parole after 20. years. But given the facts of the case, Judge Dracolich refused to accept this plea, she said,

I can't do it. And as a result, she has the opportunity to withdraw her plea. Tyler pled guilty to second-degree murder and destruction of evidence. During his time to speak, he told the court, I tried my best to save Callie, that the decisions needed to rescue my daughter needed to be made long before that horrific day. His negotiated sentence was life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years. The judge accepted his plea. saying, I understand the decisions of the parties in this case and why Mr. Anderson was permitted to plead the way he pled. But I think it's a very lucky day for him. And of course, when I say a lucky day, you just mean as we've talked about it. It's an incredibly heinous case and possibly

the saddest case that's ever come before this court. Avriano withdrew her plea and her trial date was eventually scheduled to start on July 21st, 2021 in front of Judge Dracolich. Cameras were not permitted in the courtroom during the trial. Avriana's attorney, Kendra Bershey, told the jurors that her client loved Callie, better oatmeal, and was an overwhelmed mother struggling to take care of three young children while suffering from a history of trauma, depression, and mental illness. Prosecutors alleged that she hated Callie and tortured her to death because of her jealousy and hatred. Grandma Donna and Aunt Maylene testified, saying that Avriana had hurt Callie in front of them on multiple occasions and that they had seen bruises and signs that Callie was losing weight.

Aunt Meline explained that they had reported the CA, but as far as she knew, CPS had taken no action. They also testified that Avriana often told them the girl was at a 24-hour daycare when they asked to talk to her or see her. They said she refused to let them see Callie, and they believed she hurt the girl out of spite. Grandma Donna said, Avriana wouldn't let anyone have her. She damaged her because everyone would know what she was doing. Investigators spoke to all the daycare facilities in the area. and none of them had any record of Callie ever being there. In addition to using digital evidence from her phone and iPad

that showed Avriana discussing punishments with Tyler enforcing Callie in the corner, prosecutors also presented a great deal of evidence involving the guest's bathroom and the dog cage kept there. When detectives talked to Tyrese, the man having an affair with Avriana, he said he never saw the girl on his numerous trips to the apartment. He was convinced Callie was trapped in the guest's bathroom,

during his visits. He said, she did that. That is so fucking wrong. She did that. They both did that for so fucking long. She would not let me in that fucking room. Averyana's friend Jala also testified. She said she had known Averyana since they were in fourth grade together

and explained that she never even saw a glimpse of Cali when she visited the couple's apartment in December of 2017. She saw both boys and thought Averyana seemed patient and loving with them. She took good care of the boys, and Jaila said the apartment was pristine. However, Averyana told her not to go in the guest's bathroom because of the vicious dog, and Tyler blocked her from entering the bathroom. She thought it was a little strange at the time, but once she heard about Callie on the news, it seemed very unusual.

She told the jury she couldn't stop thinking about, and I quote, how weird it was I couldn't go in the bathroom. Detective Rhodes also took the stand and testified he found no dog, dog hair or dog droppings anywhere in the apartment, even in the layers of dirt ground into the carpet. He said he saw the dog crate, the handcuffs, and Callie's clothes in the guest bathroom. He did not touch the crater handcuffs, but instead let the forensic investigators collect samples. DNA analysis of those samples found skin cells on the handcuffs that matched Callie. As part of her defense, Avriana's lawyer asked one of the detectives of Tyler said,

I fucking killed her on camera. The judge quickly called for a break and sent the jury away. Her lawyer tried to argue that Tyler's statement was an excited utterance, which would mean it wouldn't be subjected to hearsay laws, but the judge rejected her argument, and the jury was told to ignore the comment. Her defense could have called Tyler to the stand, but must have decided that things he had to say

were just as likely to make her look more guilty because they chose not to call him as a witness. The defense also tried to argue that Avriana hadn't meant to hurt Callie, but instead have been too mentally ill to care for her properly. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Melissa Piaseki testified in her defense, claiming she had a history of CA and trauma growing up and suffered from untreated depression, anxiety, unspecified psychosis, and schizophrenia when Callie died.

According to the doctor, these issues were compounded because Avriana was using illegal substances and was supposed to be on medication for depression and PTSD but wasn't taking it. She said the untreated depression prevented Avriana from doing it. day-to-day chores like getting groceries and watching her kids. In her professional opinion, she said Avriana didn't want to hurt Callie, but was remorseful about her death.

Mental illness is a serious condition. The prosecutors argued that what Avriana did to Callie went far beyond simply not taking good care of her during the short time when she was overwhelmed and struggling. They claimed that Avriana systematically tortured and starved the girl over a period of at least several months, possibly up to three years. and they had heartbreaking forensic evidence to support those claims. Sacramento Chief Forensic Pathologist Dr. Jason Tovar performed the autopsy and explained his findings to the jury. He said five-year-old Cali was 36 inches tall, weighed 16 pounds, and was wearing size 18-month pajama onesies, a knit cap, and mismatched Hello Kitty socks.

Her height was short for her age. She was only in the third percentile and was a few inches shorter than average. but her weight was unbelievably low. Her weight was so low, it fell well below the bottom of the scale and couldn't even be charted using the guidelines established by the CDC. An average 5-year-old girl should weigh close to 40 pounds. At 16 pounds, she weighed what a healthy 6-month-old girl should weigh. She was 12 pounds less than she weighed at her last doctor's appointment when she was only 2 years old.

This was 3 years prior. According to the doctor, the only explanation for her condition was malnutrition as a result of willful neglect in CA. Her internal organs were also small, shrunken, and starved. All of her organs weighed less than average, and she had no fat reserves anywhere. He told the jury that the lack of fat was, a big red flag, or something that's going on with his child to get to that point where you don't have those fat reserves on the muscles or in the abdomen inside or. underneath his skin. It's a very severe state. He also noted that her thymus, an important part of the healthy immune system, was particularly shrunken. Young children usually have a large thymus,

but hers was very small, which often happens when children suffer a significant amount of stress. He told the jury, seeing that thymus that small was an indication to me that, yes, this has been going on for a period of time. This didn't happen overnight. In his professional opinion, it had shrunk because of the malnutrition she had been suffering for an extended period of time. The medical examiner noted that her ribs were very pronounced and from the outside she looked malnourished and frail. In several areas, her skin was discolored from scrapes and bruising she suffered prior to her death. She had injuries on her head, arms, and legs, and a very strange wound on her hip. Dr. Tovar said it was a pressure sore.

the kind of wound usually seen on elderly patients who are bedbound or confined to a wheelchair. It is very rarely seen in young children. He explained the pressure sore to the jury saying, That happens to the skin when you have a prolonged pressure to a particular area because the bone is pressed against the skin and the skin is laying on a surface for a prolonged period of time. It ends up causing that skin to have less blood flow because of the pressure and ultimately undergoes breakdown. Callie should have been an active, wriggling five-year-old, but instead had been confined in one position for so long she had developed a pressure sore on her hip. She also had extensive damage to her muscles and internal organs, damage the doctor said would have occurred over weeks or months of starvation and dehydration.

He concluded that her cause of death was complications of malnutrition and her manner of death was homicide. Assistant District Attorney Kelly Kassau showed the jury gut-wrenching pictures of the clothes she was wearing when she died. Children's Bible found next to her, and Callie herself, curled up in a ball, her tiny frame, nothing but skin over bones. D.A. Casau told the jury that Callie had been handcuffed and kept in a dog crate in a filthy bathroom for months, possibly the entire nine months or so that the family lived in Reno before her death. By the time visitors like Jela and Tyrese were allowed in the apartment, he was likely too sick, weak, and afraid to yell or even cry out. More than that,

Prosecutor said she had been suffering chronic malnutrition for up to three years, which would have explained the weight loss and behaviors grandma Donna and Aunt Maline observed on the few occasions they got to see her before they left California. Avriano was given a chance to speak to the jury before they decided her fate. She told them she didn't plan to hurt the girl and didn't harm her on purpose. I want you guys to know, I loved Cali. Not in the past tense. That will never change.

After a 15-day trial, the jury deliberated for about five hours before finding Avriana guilty of all charges. The next day, August 6th, she was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 20 years for the first-degree murder charge. She was sentenced to an additional 8 to 20 years for CA resulting in death in another 364 days for destroying evidence. But since all the terms were set to run consecutive, Her final sentence was still life with the possibility of parole after 20 years.

Now it should be noted that her sentence, life with the possibility of parole after 20 years, was the exact same sentence she was offered in her plea deal that the judge rejected, basically going through this trial to end up in the same exact situation. We bring this up to mention that district attorney Chris Hicks wanted her to be sentenced to life without parole, a sentence that many might find more fitting in this scenario. After the sentencing, he said it was a merciless death. Disrespectful, horrible, torturous, it's as bad as they come. Callie died mercilessly at the hands of those who should be the very first to protect her. No child should ever suffer the way she did, and our entire community mourns her death.

The verdict in sentence reached today was only a small measure of justice for her. Avriana appealed her sentence, but lost her appeal in December of 2022 when her sentence was affirmed. She's currently serving her time at the Florence McClure Women's Correctional Center in North Las Vegas, and her earliest parole date is May 4th of 2046. Though her release is still many years away, Avriana is already back to dating, posting the following advertisement on a website that allows prisoners to meet pen pals and romantic partners online. The ad she posted said, and I quote, I apologize to anyone who has already judged me and has any preconceived notions because of my crime,

Let me say that my past does not define the woman I am today. I take every experience of something to learn and grow from. Because of that, I don't dwell on mistakes I've made. Life doesn't come with a how-to manual. If it did, we'd all make it through happy and unscathed. My current and previous circumstances have made me strong, more honest, open-minded, forgiving, optimistic, and less judgmental. I still seek to find the good in every person in every situation.

I'm still learning who I am and what defines me. I am hoping to meet people that can be positive influences in my life. I need all the support and encouragement that can be offered along this journey. Looking forward to corresponding with you. We hope no one ever shows her any interest, and even more than that, if she does attract any responses, we hope those people don't have any young and vulnerable children in their lives. By all the support encouragement that could be offered along in this journey,

What she really means is that she wants you to throw money on her J-pay, but I digress. Don't give money to this trifling bitch. A vigil for Callie was held in Vacaville at Andrews Park on May 23, 2018. Worners lit candles, said prayers, and tried to comfort her mother Liani, who hadn't been allowed to see her daughter since the couple took her out of state. No one who knew Tyler could reconcile the crime he committed with the man they knew and loved. Callie's uncle told a reporter, I wouldn't wish this on any child, and it's sad that it had to be my niece.

Another close family friend said, it's hard for me to believe Tyler would do anything like this or be involved in something like this because he loved that little girl, but you don't know what people do behind closed doors. Reporters also talk to Callie's cousin, Shalen Ward, who said, just to talk about it, it's like there's a rock in my throat, it's not right. She also said Tyler didn't seem like the person she knew growing up. When I see the pictures of him on the internet, the look in his eyes, I'm like,

that's not him. I'm really disgusted. Cousin Shailen started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Callie's funeral. On the go-fund me page, she described the tragedy with blunt honesty, saying simply, my baby cousin was five years old. She was tortured and murdered by the hands of her father and stepmother. She deserves a proper funeral in cremation. Please stop CA.

The campaign raised $3,492 towards expenses. Callie was cremated and her family held a small private ceremony to say goodbye to her. CPS in Washoe County said they have never received any reports about the family, but because there's no national CA database, they had no way of knowing that Avriana and Tyler had been investigated in California. The case had been closed, so no one was checking up on her, since Callie wasn't enrolled in school and was never allowed outside the bathroom, let alone the apartment.

No one ever saw her to make a report. Many would argue that Tyler never should have had custody in the first place. Family court advocate in Solano said, handing over custody to someone who just got out of prison or rehab is insane. Their organization tried to gather support for a Cali's law that would change the laws governing family court to make it harder for judges to award custody of very young children to parents just out of jail or rehab. But it failed to gain widespread support and it was never enacted. On April 27, 2019, Liani posted.

the following heartbreaking message on her social media page. A message we wish no other mother would have to post again. It reads, I hate the fact that I can say my child's father really starved my baby to death. His baby, his blood, his first child. Man, help me through the day because I'm not feeling it today at all. I can never trust a man the same. Kelly's mother will never be the same.

Her daughter's death has left her aching and angry. If she had been awarded custody, she said, I would have made sure she had clothes on her back and food in her belly at all times. And Callie could still be alive, still smiling, and growing up with her siblings. Tori Margaret Ball and her twin sister, Lily Terry Ball, were born on September 12, 2007 to parents Monica McCarrick and Michael Ball in San Diego, California. Now, from the beginning, things were not ideal in the household. The couple had a 10-year age gap, which, Although not always a problem, should be noted.

Monica had been arrested multiple times for using drugs, and additionally, she was arrested for DV in 2006. Afterward, the couple apparently split up as she took Michael to court for child support in 2009. Eventually, Monica would find herself living on the other side of the country in the state of Pennsylvania. A year later, the young mother would find love again with an old flame. Monica and Robert Paulson had known one another for about a decade,

but had recently reconnected over Facebook around Thanksgiving of 2009. The two began a long-distance relationship and things moved very quickly, as they sometimes do. Eventually, the pair became engaged in May of 2010. Monica appeared to be happy and stable. She worked at a dental office and was going to school. At the time of our story, Robert was grieving the loss of his ex-girlfriend Jill. In April of 2010, Jill chose to end her life several months after the relationship had ended, with one of his own guns. Robert kept a variety of weapons in his home, including guns and swords.

As Robert grieved and likely dealt with a lot of feelings of guilt, Monica was a supportive shoulder to cry on. During the last week of August of 2010, the couple decided to close the gap. With the help of his mother, Roxanne, Monica and her three-year-old twin daughters, Lily and Torrey Ball moved from Pennsylvania to California to live with Robert. They got an apartment together at the summit at Paradise Valley Complex, located at 3001 North Texas Street and Fairfield. That complex was later renamed Waterscape. Monica looked for a school to transfer to so she could get a license to be a dental assistant in the state. Robert provided her with the funds to do this. To Robert, Monica was a good mother who wanted to provide for her two girls. She never did anything

that would make him think otherwise. Robert's job required that he frequently be away from home on business. On September 9th, shortly after the couple moved into their new apartment, Robert was called away on a month-long assignment in Minnesota. Two to three weeks after he left, he began to notice changes in Monica, changes that would lead him to believe that she was slowly mentally deteriorating. Now, according to Robert, Monica found a synopsis for a horror movie that he was writing with a friend, which she described as a slasher film about a man stalking children on a beach. In this script, everyone died. Monica was upset because she thought that Robert had written a story about her and that she might be in danger.

Monica repeatedly brought the subject up during their conversations during Robert's absence and suggested that he resumed the relationship in order to hurt her. She also questioned Robert about whether he had driven Jill to end her life, accused him of being with another woman, and claimed that his female friends hated her. She expressed her fear of a UPS delivery man and said he had entered their apartment. At times, she said she would not leave the apartment because someone was sitting in a car outside. Additionally, Monica became upset about a Facebook post that Robert didn't even make. Apparently, one of Robert's friends made a joke about breaking up with a girlfriend

using Dobermans, tasers, and rounds. Somehow, Monica believed that this post was directed at her. As Monica's mood fluctuated, Robert would spend hours reassuring her, and then she would seem fine, and then the next day, they'd have to repeat the same process over again. Monica also indicated that she needed help with Lily and Tori. But as soon as he was done with the assignment, he was called away on another.

Rather than heading home to be with the family, Robert was told that he would have to head to Alaska for five to ten days after he left Minnesota. When Robert informed Monica of this, she went berserk and a couple fought. She said that she missed him and wanted him to come home. Monica's fractured mental state became all too apparent to her friends whom she kept in contact with via text message. On September 25th, Monica texted her friend Regina saying she was afraid that Robert and his mother were out to get her.

And she should let someone know if anything happened to her if she went missing. That same day, she texted her friend Marisa and said, My fiancé, Robert Paulson, and his mom are acting strange. So, FYI, if I end up missing or turn up dead, or they try to say, I committed, it is a cover-up. So feel free to get revenge for me. Now, clearly concerned, Marisa called Monica, who told her she was afraid Robert was not going to approve of her and the children. She was jealous of his relationships over Facebook, and that they were not getting along whatsoever. She also said she was afraid because of a book that he was writing.

about a murder of a wife or girlfriend. On September 29th, Monica sent Marisa another chilling message. It read, They want to steal the girls and kill me, I think. Additionally, Monica texted her friend Pamela. The text read, quote, He scares me. I feel like he is going to hurt me.

I never meant to hurt him. I need to know I am safe, so hopefully this is a paranoid delusion, but I'm telling you, if I end up missing or turn up dead, or they say I try to commit, it is a cover-up. In response, Pamela suggested she pay a visit to her mother. Further conversations between the two friends consisted of Monica saying that she was seeking

counseling before going off the rails and suggesting maybe Robert had killed his ex-girlfriend Jill. However, a lot of Monica's text messages seemed to contradict what she was sharing with her friends and family. In some, she discussed the stress she experienced because she had to care of the children on her own. In one, she said she wanted to be young and free and able to party. Facebook messages Monica exchanged on October 3rd and October 7th revealed no delusions, paranoia, or fear of Robert. Now, it should be noted that Monica wasn't on her own in the Golden State. Tori and Lily's biological father still lived in San Diego. In addition, she had a wide network of relatives and friends that she could lean on in times of need, including Pamela in Los Angeles and her own mother,

Margaret in San Diego. Yes, some of these support systems were several hours away, but overall Monica had relatives that were checking up on her and keeping close contact. According to her mother, Monica was managing well before the move. However, shortly after arriving in California, she began expressing a fear about Robert. When Monica visited her mother in San Diego from September 29th to October 4th, she brought the synopsis of the horror movie Robert had worked on and asked her mother what she thought of it, whether it meant he was feeling violent towards her. Monica expressed her concerns about the fact that Robert kept guns in the apartment. She did not mention the swords. During this visit, she repeatedly discussed her fears and her

uncertainty about getting married. However, when mother and daughter subsequently went shopping for a wedding dress during the visit, her worry seemed to fade. She even sent a picture of herself in a wedding dress to her friend Pamela. Additionally, Terry Faye, the paternal grandmother of Monica's daughters lived in Southern California. The two spoke to one another regularly by phone, and she had cared for the girls on occasion. On October 11th, Monica called Terry and asked her, who was going to take the girls?

According to Terry, Monica did not sound rational during this conversation. She claimed that Robert, whom she had just become engaged to, had a vendetta against her for 10 years and was kicking her out of her home. Now, mind you, she had just driven across the country with her daughters in tow to be. with this man. Concerned, Terry told Monica that if she brought the girls to her home, that she and her family would begin proceedings to have custody of them. Roxanne Paulson, Robert's mother, also began to have concerns about Monica. She found her to be nervous and anxious, and found that she was having a difficult time managing while Robert was out of town. In early October, Monica and her girls

spent the night at Roxanne's home. However, between two and three in the morning, Monica decided to leave. When she took one of the girls to the car, she told Roxanne there was a car outside. She thought someone was watching her. Roxanne reassured her that the person was a neighbor who left early for work. After the girls were in the car, Monica texted Roxanne to ask if it was safe to leave. As I got home, she texted Roxanne to tell her that they were safe. On the same day that she had her irrational conversation with Terry Faye, Monica called Roxanne at work and told her that the UPS driver was coming into the apartment.

In addition, Monica also contacted her mother on October 11th. Her mother advised her that it was not a good time to talk. When she asked if Monica had called about something important, she replied, no, it's okay, in a sad and subdued voice. On the morning of October 12th, the assistant manager of the apartment complex where the couple lived asked Monica to move her car as it was blocking other parking spots. At first, Monica would not open her door

and then tried to articulate why her car was parked the way it was, but had a difficult time doing so. Finally, the assistant manager watched Tori and Lily while Monica moved her car. Later, Monica contacted the assistant manager regarding a work order to have her locks changed. During that call, the assistant manager could hear Tori and Lily crying in the background. According to that manager, Monica seemed to want her to help her with the girls. That same day, Robert and Monica had several conversations via text message and over the telephone. Some of them made no sense.

In one, Monica was going on about robot butterflies and concluded the text with, You will never have me again. In another, she told Robert to say to the children's father, quote, let the bunnies go forever, so we can keep what's ours and say that defending them is the number one most high on your priority list, end quote.

This was apparently a reference to their hope that Lillian Tori's father might give up his parental rights so that Robert could adopt them. Later in the evening, Monica sent a text message that said, TikTok. Another message said, read James Patterson. Now, according to Robert, when they spoke on the telephone later that evening, Monica sounded incoherent and jumbled.

It almost sounded as if she was running around the house doing something. You could hear her freaking out, and as he put it, hysterical noises going on in the background. She would hang up and then he would call her right back. Then Monica told her fiancé something bizarre. She said, quote, if Tori and Lily are okay, tell them it was an accident. It's okay. It's going to be okay.

We're going to make a fire. We're going to make a fire. End quote. Then Robert heard a fire alarm go off and then a scream. And then the call ended abruptly. Rightly concerned, he tried to call the apartment several times, but no one picked up. But what Robert didn't realize is just how far off the rails Monica had gone. To any parent,

what she did was beyond unthinkable. Strapping both Tori and Lily to their high chairs, the two little girls had no way to escape from what their mother was about to do. We don't know the exact timeline of events, but here's what we know based on the evidence. Monica brandished what police described as a katana, one of the weapons that Robert had in his collection.

She then proceeded to hack away at her two bound and helpless daughters. One of the twins was stabbed multiple. multiple times in the stomach. The other was partially decapitated. In a bit to prevent first responders from accessing the apartment, Monica propped their bodies up against the front door before attempting to set the apartment ablaze. Finally, according to neighbors, they didn't hear much noise from the apartment apart from some loud thumping. There's no mention of them hearing any screaming. An hour or two later, the fire alarm went off, and a downstairs neighbor saw smoke coming from one of the windows. This neighbor, Andre Douglas, ran upstairs and kicked in the front door, but found

it was blocked, not knowing the twin girl's bodies were what stood in the way of him entering. He was able to break through another entrance, a sliding glass door. Given Monica's apartment was on the third floor, Andre would have had to scale the balconies to get inside. However, when he entered the apartment, he saw on the floor, covered in blood, the sword used to take poor Lily and Tori's lives. According to Andre, quote, once I actually got past her room, there was a sword, a bloody katana-style Japanese fighting sword in the hallway and a bottle of pills, end quote. Firefighters arrived and found the door to the apartment slightly ajar, but difficult to open. They forced the door open, found a fire in a closet near the front door and extinguished it.

Retracing their steps, it was then that they discovered the mangled bodies of Tori and Lily. A search of the apartment revealed an assault rifle, a shotgun in the living room, and a box with a loaded handgun in additional live rounds. The model of these guns was not disclosed anywhere in the report. In the hallway was the sword Monica had used. Alongside it, also covered in blood, was the lighter she used to set the fire. Two high chairs had been overturned in the dining room with their food trays removed. These high chairs were completely soaked in blood. On a table facing the high chairs was a laptop computer playing an animated children's program.

In the kitchen, a landline telephone was on the counter. Both the telephone and the countertop were covered in blood. Water was running from the bathroom faucet and blood was in the sink and on the counter. A cell phone was on the bathroom floor and on a stool was the James Patterson novel Double Cross. The book was about a serial killer and it was open to a page that contained the words, my daughter is dead. According to the Salano County Coroner's office, Tori had 11 cutting wounds to her face, two to her neck,

a gaping wound on the front of her neck, nine superficial cutting wounds to the chest, as well as two deep stab wounds to the chest, one of which penetrated her heart and the other her lung. There was also a deep stab wound to her abdomen, three small superficial cutting wounds to the abdomen, and defensive wounds on her arms and hands. Lily had five cutting wounds to her face,

four to her neck and nine to her chest. A large gaping wound was found on the front of her neck that had severed her larynx and cut her carotid arteries. She had a six-inch deep stab wound to her abdomen and multiple defensive wounds to her arms and hands. It was found that neither of the girls had inhaled any smoke. They had died before the fire had started. Monica was located in the kitchen of the apartment.

She was unconscious and had sustained multiple self-inflicted injuries. She was taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek in critical condition. She had two large lacerations to her throat and multiple cuts and lacerations on her arms and wrists. The tendons that flexed the wrist and fingers were severed on one of her arms. She had a large laceration on her upper thigh and large lacerations on each ankle which cut her Achilles tendon. Despite her neighbor finding a bottle of pills near the katana, no drugs were found in her system. Upon release, she was arrested and charged with two counts of homicide,

two counts of CA resulting in death, and one count each of arson and destruction of evidence, shackled to a wheelchair and heavily bandaged. Monica made her first appearance in court on October 26. She pled not guilty by reason of insanity. Between October of 2010 and June of 2011, Dr. John Shields had met with Monica nine times and had spent more than 20 hours with her.

He administered psychological tests, interviewed her mother, and reviewed other documents, including reports of other interviews, police reports, and mental health records. In his opinion, Monica suffered from a mental disease, most probably a depressive condition. This condition first manifested in 1995 when she was 12 years old. Monica was hospitalized for ideation and superficial wounds that she had inflicted upon herself. According to hospital records, this was not the first time that Monica had exhibited this type of behavior. At age 14, Monica was diagnosed with a form of attention deficit disorder and received medication. According to Dr. Shields, adolescents with untreated depressive disorders

often develop substance abuse problems. In his opinion, Monica had bipolar disorder with psychotic features, signs of a delusional disorder, and polysubstance abuse. According to Monica, she started using alcohol at the age of 12 and began using illegal drugs including weed, acid, mushrooms, and ecstasy, and possibly Coke around the age of 14. She graduated to using Crystal at age 18. She continued to use it regularly, except when she was pregnant with the twins. Now, although she claimed that she used it less as time went on, she was using it nearly every day until she was 25 years old. Monica was using it during the month of September 2010 and into October. In fact, she told Dr. Shields that she smoked to Roxanne Paulson's garage four days before the killings.

In an October 10th, 2010 text message to robber, Monica wrote, You wanted me to stay thin and said it was important and okayed me to use to do that. In another, she wrote, I am dying to smoke. I am leaving them alone here. They probably won't wake up, but I can't help it. It's too hard to bring them everywhere. Sometime between 2003 and 2005, Monica was diagnosed with major depression. At the time, she was still living in San Diego and received some.

psychiatric treatment. During that time, she reported experiencing paranoid thoughts. According to Dr. Shields, paranoia is a common side effect of ongoing crystal use. Long-term drug use can cause mental problems well after someone uses the drug, and it can cause delusions. In his view, drugs were not the primary cause of her actions, although he acknowledged there was a possibility that her long-term daily drug use could have caused her to have the issues she had on the day of the killings. In his opinion, Monica's actions were largely motivated by the delusional idea that she was being persecuted and that someone was going to take her daughters, separate them, enslave them in a camp setting, and torture them eternally. This delusion was fueled by the story Robert had written

about the girls or women being taken to an island, mistreated, and killed. She believed the UPS driver had keys to her apartment and was part of this conspiracy to harm her and the girls, and that messages were embedded in the videos or shows she and the children were watching after the move to California. She told Dr. Shields that while she was reading the novel Double Cross, she understood a reference to the time of day in the book to refer to the time that people were going to come and take her daughters away into slavery. Dr. Shields characterized this belief as an idea of reference. This is a psychotic symptom. For those unfamiliar with the term, ideas of reference are beliefs that certain things that seem mundane or normal are special messages,

for that person, and they may see secret messages on things like license plates or feel personal significance with a news article. For example, a few days before the killings, Monica and the girls were eating pizza at Roxanne's house. Monica told Dr. Shields that the pizza made them sick, and she believed it was poisoned as a part of an effort by someone, including Roxanne, to kill her and her daughters. When Robert told her he was going to Alaska instead of returning to California immediately, Monica believed that it was a sign she or one of the girls was going to be taken to an enslavement camp. She became increasingly desperate to prevent that from happening. She believed the only way she could save the children from enslavement was to kill them.

On the day of the killings, she sent Robert a text that read, You're separating them? Monica told Dr. Shields she started the fire because she wanted to hide the evidence of what she had done so her family would not find out. Dr. Shields testified that Monica's mental disorder affected her ability to understand the nature and quality of her actions. She was not able to appreciate her act's harmful nature because she believed she was saving the children from harm and not causing them harm.

In Dr. Shield's opinion, at the time of the murder, Monica was unable to recognize the moral or legal wrongfulness of her actions. Monica's county jail records indicated that by nine days after the killings, she said she was no longer experiencing thoughts of causing harm towards herself. She told the jail psychiatric staff she never heard voices, although she later said otherwise. A jail psychiatrist who saw Monica for a year and a half diagnosed her with chronic and recurring adjustment disorder issues.

She also received diagnoses of bipolar disorder with psychosis and depressive disorder with psychosis. The psychiatrist also considered a diagnosis of a disorder on the schizophrenic spectrum. Monica was given antipsychotics and antidepressants. in jail. On October 25th, 2011, she told another inmate to essentially hurt themselves and claimed to hear voices so they could meet each other at the hospital. In November of 2011, Monica reported paranoid thoughts that people were going to attack her. In April of 2012,

she used coke and drank 12 cups of coffee and was treated for possible overdose. Allegedly, she obtained these drugs from the prison guards themselves. She was described as paranoid, delusional, and psychotic. She stated that gangs were out to kill her for snitching on a boyfriend 10 years prior, and that if she had the means, she would self-cancel, so to speak. I'm sorry, YouTube is very strict about phrases and words surrounding themes like this. I hope you understand. During her imprisonment, Monica was also interviewed by Dr. Pablo Stewart and Dr. Janice Nakagawa.

Much of the information is redundant when compared against the interviews with Dr. John Shields. What is important is that Dr. Nakagawa concluded that Monica men the criteria for not being guilty by reason of insanity. Dr. Nakagawa did not believe that Monica understood the nature and quality of her acts because she was paranoid or delusional. Much like Dr. Shields, she also believed that Monica was not capable of understanding that her acts were legally or morally wrong. She testified that Monica's drug use could have been a factor contributing to the emergence of psychotic symptoms and that drug use can trigger predispositions to delusions, paranoia, or depression.

However, a Salano County Superior Court jury found that Monica was sane when she used a sword to kill the three-year-old twins. On June 15, 2012, the jury convicted Monica of two counts each of first-degree homicide and assault on a child causing death. At her sentencing on October 3rd of the same year, a tearful Monica addressed the court.

She said, quote, I feel really bad. I pray for all of you every day and I wished there was something I could do to ease the pain for both of our families. I love Tori and Lily more than anything in the world, end quote. Monica's mother, Margaret, also addressed the court, attributing her daughter's difficult childhood and mental illness for the incidents and asked that she'd be placed in mental facility instead of prison.

However, Tori and Lily's father, Michael Ball, also had words for the judge. Instead of asking for leniency, he went on to describe an indefensible crime committed by the defense. never referring to Monica by her name. He said, I will miss all of the joys of my father-daughter relationship. Judge Peter B. 4 sentenced Monica to two consecutive life sentences in state prison, each without the possibility of parole. Two additional 25-to-life state prison sentences for the two counts of assault on a child causing death were dismissed. She was also ordered to pay $6,361 to the state victim's compensation board in addition to a $10,000 fine.

Monica is currently serving her sentence at the California Institution for Women in Corona. She's attempted multiple times to appeal her sentence, but every attempt has failed. In the aftermath of Tori and Lily's senseless deaths, a petition on Change.org began circulating on August 22nd, 2019, that petitioned California Governor Gavin Newsom to overturn Monica's sentence. The petition was started by Margaret Croney and claims that all experts who have evaluated Monica agreed that she was not fully culpable for her actions. According to the petition and its author, Monica has totally changed her life since her arrest,

and her major depressive disorder is in remission. It goes on to state that Monica enjoys her prison job as a certified peer mentor who helps others. Please let us know what you think down below on if Monica deserved the sentence she received or if this petition has any merit at all. In close, we'd like to share a passage from Tori and Lily's obituary. It read,

Tori Margaret Ball and twin sister Lily Terry Ball were born in San Diego on September 12, 2007. On October 12, 2010, they received their angel wings after a tragic incident. Such beautiful little girls, full of life, love and smiles to spare. Although their time with us was brief, they touched the hearts of so many. They will always be loved and adored by all who knew them. As twins, they shared a very special bond, one that only they could understand. and one that will last in eternity. Tori and Lily will be missed dearly,

but will forever live on in our hearts. What if you were set out to fail from the very moment that you were born? What if you were tossed around from home to home like garbage, only to have your family members interfere when you finally managed to put down roots? What if you had no way to truly feel safe? Would you do everything to stop the cycle of destruction once having a child of your own? Today's story explores untreated mental illness and a web of dysfunction that spans generations, ending in the most horrific way possible.

This is the story of Deasia and Janaya Watkins. Like many little girls in our stories, Deasia Watkins didn't grow up in the best circumstances. She grew up in a home that was unfit for kids and bounced around from house to house for years, sustaining neglect that was severe enough to get the attention of authorities. She was born to a mother, Tina Johnson, who suffered from severe mental illness. Some of those illnesses included depression and schizoaffective disorder, which is a condition in which a person suffers hallucinations and other symptoms similar to schizophrenia. Tina also had an IQ score under 70.

Similar to schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder is thought to have a genetic component. This means that individuals who have a first-degree relative, or family history of schizophrenia, mood disorders, or schizoaffective disorder are at a higher risk for developing the disorder themselves. In 1997, a psychiatrist wrote that Tina Johnson showed significant deficiencies with respect to parenting and intellectual functioning. And the psychiatrist was right. Tina was an unfit parent. When she wasn't neglecting her little girl, she was berating her. She routinely left Deasia alone in the care of strangers in a dirty apartment where she didn't have enough food or clothes.

Once, a teenager was essayed inside of the family's apartment while babysitting Deasia and her older brother. Her dysfunctional start to life took a severe toll on the little girl. According to her therapist, Deacia suffered from grief and abandonment issues. Additionally, she barely spoke for the first four years of her life. According to a social worker, Deasia didn't even have a vocabulary. In 1998, when Deasia was only just three years old, a court prosecutor wrote that there are reasonable grounds to believe the children are in immediate danger. Now, for the next decade, Deasia became part of a juvenile court proceeding that would involve

dozens of hearings, countless reports from therapists and social workers, and stints in at least five homes, including an emergency shelter for kids. Even when others tried to step in and care for Deasia, her mother argued that she should retain custody and she went to court repeatedly demanding that her daughter be returned home. Juvenile court magistrates took custody of custody of Deasia and her brother in 1998. Now, because the two kids had different fathers, each went to live temporarily with a different relative. Deasia's father, Terence Watkins, was in prison for at least part of her formative years

and was completely absent for the rest of it. For a little while, Deasia's home life improved and social workers believed that she was happy and well cared for. However, the aunt who was acting as her temporary guardian was unable to continue her care due to personal problems. When that aunt gave up custody, a family friend did agree to take her in. She was just five years old at the time.

Foster mother Barbara Owens, who had raised 10 kids of her own, thought that she could give Deasia a stable home. Plus, Barbara had a lot of grandkids that she could play with. DeAsia was smart and seemed like a normal kid in many ways. But Barbara observed that the girl's tough upbringing weight on her, noting that Deasia was probably going through a hard time

and that you could tell that she was holding stuff in. Yet like many kids who get taken away from their parents, Deasia continued to ask about her mother, even during long absences, wondering if Tina still thought about her. This would become something that the little girl would lament about with her therapist. And as we see in many, many cases,

reunification with a troubled parent sometimes is not the best course of action. In 2005, Tina came back into the picture. She petitioned the court to regain custody of her kids and accused Barbara Owens of neglecting her daughter, which was ridiculous as Deasia was thriving in her care. Tina had a lot of hurdles to overcome. She had repeatedly failed to do what the court had asked her to do before losing custody, including dropping out of drug treatment, missing appointments for supervised visits, and not paying her bills.

She also skipped her daughter's therapy sessions with a counselor. On the day of her custody hearing, Tina didn't show. She explained her absence in a written plea to the magistrate, quote, I am a good mother. I love my children with all of my heart. I missed the bus, so I had to wait for the next one, and that was an hour wait, end quote. She kept up her court fight, and even after her complaint against Barbara was dismissed, she continued to see her daughter during supervised visits.

The constant turmoil, court battles, and Tina popping in and out of her life on a whim took a whole other toll on Diasia. Her grades in school started to suffer and she struggled with trust issues especially with mother figures such as Tina and Barbara. But a year later, things weren't going to get any better for Diasia. Barbara Owens gave up custody due to constant harassment from Diasia's biological relatives. It was just too much for her.

At just 12 years old, Diasia was taken to the lighthouse shelter. She was without a home again. And her mistrust in those who were supposed to care for her was affirmed. Before long, another relative, Michelle Johnson, stepped in and took temporary custody of D-Asia. Social workers said she provided a good home for the young girl, but Tina could not help but disrupt things for her young daughter. She went back to court once again to demand custody. Her custody claim was dismissed for the final time in December 2008 when she failed to show up for court. DeAia was 14 years old this time.

On December 4th, 2014, when she was just 20 years of, old, Diazia welcomed daughter Janaya into the world with a man by the name of James Brown. But sadly for Janaya, history would begin to repeat itself. After giving birth, Deasia was prevented from seeing her daughter for 72 hours because she displayed erratic behavior, which led to the diagnosis of postpartum psychosis, to which she was provided the medication, Risperidone. The new mother was never to come in contact with her daughter unless she was taking the prescription. Otherwise, she would be a threat to her safety. On January 24, 2015, at 1116 p.m.,

Sergeant Richard Fenster, as well as other responding officers, were called to a home in Chavoie for a suspected infant that was in trouble. Upon arrival, he could clearly hear an adult female screaming incoherently, as well as the sound of a baby crying. According to Sergeant Fenster, it sounded like the woman was screaming for the baby to stop its crying. He then knocked at the door, to which he received no answer. The screaming continued, and the sergeant began to bang on the door, demanding that the woman opened it up.

He could hear the baby continued to cry, but the wailing had stopped. Still, there was no answer. The sergeant pounded a few more times and stated that he was going to force his way inside. At that point, a male stated, don't kick the door in, and then opened up the door.

A huge waft of smoke filled the air. When asked what was going on, the man identified later as Christopher Gilly stated he had no idea what was going on because he had headphones on. The screaming woman who turned out to be Deasia Watkins was holding her newborn daughter standing in the middle of the room, swaying and staring off into the distance. By now the baby had stopped crying. Deasia was incoherent and would not answer the officer or even acknowledge his presence. Due to this, EMS was dispatched for a possible psychiatric emergency. Upon arrival of emergency services, Deasia continued to refuse to talk and had to be restrained

while officers and EMS units wrestled the baby from her arms. She laid on the ground with her body rigid as paramedics struggled to put her in a stair chair. Eventually, she was wrapped in a sheet and carried out of the home by the EMS units. Now, according to Christopher Gilly, Deasia had been acting strange for the last couple of weeks, speaking in tongues, acting crazy, and talking about demons. The baby's father, James Brown, was contacted at work and he returned to the apartment to care for the newborn while Deasia was transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and later transferred to Deacon's hospital for a 72-hour hold. James stated that Deasia had been talking in tongues and seeing things for the past couple of weeks.

James also admitted to authorities that he had never seen Deasia take her prescribed medication. Janai was first placed with James after the January 25th incident and Deasia was permitted to move back in with him after she got out of the hospital. She was not, however, allowed to be alone with her daughter and was told that she could only stay in the home if she took her medication. Social workers checked on Janaya at least seven times while she was in James' care, usually at his home for as much as two hours and as little as 10 minutes. After each visit, social workers determined Janaya appeared to be healthy and in good condition. The baby was removed from James's home after a March 6th court hearing

when a judge determined that Deasia had stopped taking her medication and had been seen nursing Janaya, even though she was told that she could not do so because of the medication she was taking. Hamilton County's job and family services took custody of Janaya and temporarily placed her in the custody

of Deasia's aunt, who has not been named, on the condition that the mother not be allowed in the home. The aunt was given specific instructions that neither mother nor father could have contact with a baby and that imminent risk of heart existed if Janaya returned to her surroundings. The baby's father, James, didn't have custodial rights due to the fact that he had not formally established paternity.

Initially, Deasia continued to reside with her baby's father, James. But at some point, her aunt allowed her to move into her home at the 5,900 block of Waldeway Lane in Cincinnati's College Hill neighborhood, which violated the custody agreement that the aunt held with the Hamilton County Job and Family Services. On March 16th, 2015, a five-year-old relative had been dropped off at the home in order to wait for the school bus. However, when he entered the home on Waldway Lane, he made a shocking discovery that no little boy should ever have to make. Little Janiah, just three months old, was dead. Her tiny body was laying on the kitchen counter in a pool of her own blood.

She had been decapitated. The chef's knife was placed in her own hand. My niece and the police, my niece killed her baby. All I know is my son came in here and woke me up and said, Mama, the baby's dead. Hello. What happened? I don't know, this house is big.

I don't know where my little cousin is at. So can you please? Where is the three-monthed baby? The baby, the baby is on my mama's kitchen counter with his head smith. So can you please? I know, I know the toilet car. Can you please? I just send the police.

Okay. I need to know what happened to the baby. I don't know what happened to the baby. I came into the house. She told you. Came into the house. The baby was on the counter. My mom was in the bed sleep. I woke my mom up and we're calling you. That's all I know. I don't know nothing else. I have a little cousin. She was here. I don't know. Okay, okay. Listen to me. Listen to me. The baby is deceased. Who is the mother? Deasia. What is the age's last name? Walking. Is she there right now? No, I don't know where she's at. That's the problem. I don't know where she's at. I don't know. I don't know where she's at. I don't know. I don't know. where this little girl is it. Lana, lady, want to talk to you.

Hello. Hey, ma'am, listen to me, okay? We have help on the way. What do you think happened? What do you think happened? Oh, my God. What happened to the baby? Oh, my God, male, ma'am.

Oh, my God. They're on their way, okay. The Asia was found in bed, pretending to be asleep, covered in blood. After another 72-hour hold at Deaconess Hospital, she was then booked at the Hamilton County Jail for aggravated homicide and held in lieu of a $500,000 bond, which was later increased to $5 million. When the trial began in April of 2015, a judge ordered that Deasia undergo treatment and postponed her court date for six months. She was found competent to stand trial in September of 2015. During multiple court appearances, Deasia was seen exhibiting blank stares with little discernible reaction to her surroundings.

Her attorney argued that she had no idea what was going on around her. After performing Janaya's autopsy, College Hill Medical Examiner Dr. Lakshmi Samarco concluded that the three-month-old baby was decapitated due to multiple stab wounds to the neck area, 15 in total. She also suffered a fractured arm prior to her death. The chef's knife that had been placed in her hand was indeed the weapon that took her life. And Deasia had placed it there in order to make it look like her three-month-old baby had cut her own head off. Yes, you heard that correctly. Deasia tried to make it look like her baby had taken her own life in one of the most grotesque manners that you can imagine. Something that would have been physically impossible for her to do.

On February 23rd, 2017, after spending two years at Summit Behavioral Health, care in Rosalon, Ohio. Deasia Watkins pled guilty to the homicide of her daughter, Janaya. She had previously pled not guilty to the charge of aggravated homicide and rejected a plea deal just months prior. At sentencing, she told the judge, I loved my daughter very much. I loved her regardless of what anybody says. She was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. With credit for time served, and as of the date of this recording, she will be eligible for parole. in just 10 years. The city of Camden, tonight in a state of shock, how could a mother do this?

Crime takes stretches around a New Jersey home that police say was the scene of a grisly murder. What police found here on this tree-lined Camden, New Jersey Street, in this home, no horror movie maker could conjure. On the evening of Tuesday, August 21st, 2012, 33-year-old Shavon Thomas and her boyfriend sat upon the steps of their row house located at 1450. 15 Caines Avenue in Camden, New Jersey. According to neighbor Melanie Troutman, this was a familiar sight. It was a warm evening in Camden, with temperatures reaching a high of 81 degrees.

It's not uncommon to see folks cooling themselves off on porches in the city. And this was the scene on the street lined with brick homes located in the city's parkside neighborhood. But Melanie Troutman did notice something that was out of the ordinary. Her neighbor, Chavon, appeared to be topless and was visible. upset. There are conflicting reports with neighbor Tayari Horsey who lives a few doors down, insisting that the 33-year-old mother was clothed. However, our story today is not about a woman bearing her chest on her porch. It's about what happens two hours later. But first, I think it's important to give a little backstory here. Chavon Thomas had a trouble past and recently

had been reunified with her two-year-old son, Zari, on April 3, 2012. The little boy, had been in the custody of family members after a November 2010 incident where his mother, Chavon, left him unattended in a car while she smoked fry sticks. Fry sticks are also known as wet lovelies among many other things, which are the street names for cannabis laced with the hallucinogenic drug PCP, which is a word that YouTube heavily polices the use of, so for the remainder of this episode, I'm going to refer it to either Bencycletine or what I knew it as growing up, Angel Dust. After getting high off this, she passed out in a nearby park.

For those unfamiliar, Angel Dust was initially produced in 1956 and was marketed as an anesthetic. However, extreme physical and psychological side effects led to the drug being outlawed nine years later in 1965, with use in animals finally banned in 1978. Nowadays, a legal production of Angel Dust is often done in improper conditions, not in a lab environment like it was initially intended for. Because of this, the end product tends to be something far more toxic to the user. And furthermore, the person can easily be unaware of the actual dose they're taking. The effects of intoxication vary from person to person, especially by dosage. Physically, in low to mid doses, it can provide feelings of numbness, slurred speech, and a loss of balance

in moderate doses. It should be noted that high doses can cause convulsions. In media, Angel Dust users are depicted as violent, raging maniacs. While this isn't a typical reaction, it's definitely not impossible. However, what isn't up for debate is the unpredictability of psychological effects that one can experience. Various psychoses and hallucinations have been reported in use, and Angel Dust may induce feelings of invulnerability and strength. A Japanese study concluded in August 2019 that, quote, Pentecletine administration induces several schizophrenia-like psychobehavioral abnormalities, end quote.

Basically comparing the results of a chronic user of Angel Dust to a schizophrenic episode. Keep this in mind as we go further in this story. Chauvin was charged with endangering the life of her son with regards to the 2010 car incidents, but the case was later dropped due to a problem with a witness. However, during this time, she sought court-ordered treatment for circumstances. substance use in mental health disorders and was ultimately prescribed the drug Prozac, an SSRI used to typically treat depression, among other ailments. After just nine months, state workers with DCF deemed Chavon a fit mother and Zari was returned to her care. However,

only a month after regaining custody of her son, Chavon flagged hot for Angel Dust in a court-ordered test. Again, Zari was removed from his mother's care and placed back with the relative. But once more, Zari stayed with this relative for nine months before ultimately being returned to Chauvin's care. This brings us back to the balmy evening in Camden, just four months after Zari was returned to his mother's care. 911 dispatchers received a disturbing call from the troubled 33-year-old. One, they would not soon forget. You said my baby, she's in here. They just did what?

Sad my baby. Do you know what it was, ma'am? Yes, it's my boyfriend, my crime boyfriend. What's your address? Um, 14, 15, K's. You know what? Because if you didn't land me last name? You know what?

You, I did it. I'm lying. I'm lying. I'm lying. I did it. What's your name? Chavon Thomas. Chavine Thomas.

Chavon. What's your phone number? You know what? Hello? All right, you said your baby was stabbed. Is your son? Yes. How old is he?

Yes. Yes. Yes. How old is he? My son is two. He is two. I said he was the one that was fast? Yeah.

A night. Is he bleeding? Where is he bleeding? Is he bleeding from anywhere? No. I mean, he is, but not much. Oh, we're going to send him off the house out there, okay? Yep.

You're at 14, 15K Avenue, right? Yep. Yep. All right, we'll send somebody up there. Yep. You better wait wait you know what I don't even want to play this I did it okay I did it I did it stay on the phone okay I keep trying to make it I'm about to

no I got to find some money I got to I got to try to find some money I got to I got to I got to I don't care I try to find it Do you got to. Do it. Do you got to do it. Do you got to do. Hello, ma'am.

Nope. Nope. No. Hello? Nope. What? What? I knew it.

I knew it. What did you know, Chavre? I know. You need the police? I know. How old are you, Shavon? I don't need nothing. I'm 33.

You're 33? 33. Do you take medicine? Where? I used to. What kind did you take? Um, um. Prozac.

Prozac. Oh, okay. You don't take it anymore? Nope. Okay. What's your name? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I do.

Did you take it today? I still take it. Um, I still take it. No. After hanging up on police dispatchers and realizing the gravity of what she had just done, 33-year-old Chavon Thomas fatally stabbed herself in the neck with a kitchen knife, putting a grisly end to her troubled life. Further investigations revealed the,

that Chavon was yet again high on angel dust at the time of the incident. Some side effects of taking angel dust are dangerous hallucinations, aggressive behavior, lack of rational judgment, feeling of no pain, and being willing to harm oneself and others. When the police arrived at Thomas's house, they found Zari's headless body on the floor. His head was later discovered in the freezer of the home. Additionally, medical examiners found a stab wound to the chest

and marks on the little boy's arms. Zari's violent end was in stark contrast to what neighbors reported seeing earlier that day. Just hours earlier, Chavon was outside, blowing bubbles with her son. Chavon had just moved to the neighborhood from elsewhere in the city and was already well-liked. No one saw any evidence of problems, and according to neighbor, Tayari Horsey, quote, because had we known something was up, I'm quite sure all of the neighbors on the block would have talked to her. But, you know, people hold stuff in. you don't know what's going on."

End quote. Her landlord described the mother as good nature and stated, quote, she was a really nice woman for the short amount of time that she lived there. She was never late with her rent, and just a short time ago my wife was there and my kid played with them, end quote. According to a teen who lived a few doors down, quote, she used to sit on the step with her son. She really didn't speak.

She just kept to herself. We'd see her out there smoking cigarettes, but we didn't really know her, end quote. However, former neighbor Thelma Moore said Chavon exhibited mental health issues during the several years that she had known her. Moore described her as being in a world all to herself and said Chavon had been seeing a behavioral health therapist. According to the former neighbor, quote, she just walked around and talked and cursed to herself, end quote. It is unknown if Chavon smoked angel dust in the presence of any of her neighbors. Angel dust, if smoked, is noted to smell like permanent marks. But this can change depending on what it's mixed with.

So we cannot say for certain if there was any drug-related red flags that were easily observable to her neighbors. Counseling services were offered at the nearby Bethel Deliverance Church on Cain's Avenue with clergy, the mayor's staff, and city police on hand to help. According to Camden Mayor Dana L. read, and this is a direct quote, My deepest sympathy goes out to the young child, family members and friends. As the investigation into the circumstances that led to this tragic incident moves forward, we need to remember that all life matters.

In the city of Camden, we are all family, and we will be here to help through the healing process. End quote. According to Chivon's parents, Wendell and Jarlane Birch, their daughter had been crying out for help, and she did not get the care that she needed. They also questioned DCF's decisions with regards to their grandson, Zari, which included discontinuing daycare for the toddler, leaving the little boy with his mother all day long. Additionally, DCF workers stopped visiting Chavon, who had a history of drug addiction and had been diagnosed with serious mental illness. DCF commissioner Alison Blake claims that protection workers could not have prevented Zari's death,

nor could they have known that Chavon was in distress. However, the grandparents both wondered if the state could have done more to protect both. mother and son. Let us know down below if you feel DCF was negligent and if they truly could have prevented this tragic event. Wendell and Jarlane recounted being the ones who were always there for Zari. When he was born premature with numerous medical needs, the grandparents stayed with the little boy in the hospital. They watched him grow, idolizing Buzz Light Ear and Toy Story, reclining in his lazy boy for kids with his bag of cereal and his cup of juice. After Chavon regained custody, the grandparents still cared for the boy while she attended night counseling, and they often had dinner together.

Jolaine described her daughter as a good mom who took care of her son, with Wendell adding that she was not the monster that the media was portraying her to be, and added that she loved Zari. The last time Jolaine saw her daughter was the Monday before the incident occurred. All seemed well enough. But the following day, Chavon called her mother, quickly rattling off a list of things she needed to do. repeating phrases and saying God had spoken to her. Jolene became concerned her daughter may have suffered a relapse. And according to Louis E. Baxter, the medical director of the Division of Addiction Services for the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services,

Chavond would have indeed had an increased risk of psychosis with relapse. Many of you remember Dr. Nathan, a friend of the show who's a clinical pharmacist that treats hospitalized patients daily. He spoke briefly about how Prozac and A. Angel Dust can interact with each other. To keep it short, Dr. Nathan told me Angel Dust modulates most neurotransmitters, including serotonin. Prozac is an SSRI, which stands for selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor.

Taking too high of a dose of an SSRI alone can cause serotonin syndrome. Now, serotonin syndrome, to put it simply, is an overdose of serotonin. This can cause agitation, insomnia, and confusion. But if the reaction is severe, it can cause a high fever, seizures, and even death. Was it irresponsible for doctors to prescribe Prozac to Chavon who was a known Angel Dust addict with a history of relapsing? Let me know in the comments down below. However, what we know about how SSRIs and Angel Dust can potentially interact gives us clues to how this could have played a factor in her final days. In fact, while uncommon, there are documented cases of SSRIs

such as Prozac causing psychosis in some patients. We have several links to medical journals in the show notes if you want to know more in-depth information about the pharmacology. Angel dust usage rates have thankfully been declining over the years, but regardless, I'd like to make a plea to people who might consider using it. Please reconsider, not just for your sake, but for your loved ones, especially if you have children in your care. Even if you consider the story of Chavon Thomas to be an extreme example, please note that even one use of angel dust can have unpredictable results. especially when it's hard to estimate true dosages. I've heard countless experiences from people who've used Angel Dust,

some who I know personally. One user on YouTube who I watched said what happened to him is that he went into a dreamlike state. And after he woke up from it, he had done multiple bizarre and violent things that were completely uncharacteristic of him to do, and that he could barely remember them. He had to find out from others afterwards. If you become that out of control, what could you end up? you end up doing to your kids? If you are currently struggling with addiction and your kids are

at risk, please seek help. Zari didn't have to lose his life. And if you're a friend, family member, or neighbor, and you see red flags, especially as it relates to the safety of a minor, say something. We say this all the time again and again. If you see something, say something. artist Brian Lewis Saunders, who experiments with many different drugs with art, was once quoted as saying, There ain't no angels on angel dust. And in the case of Chavon Thomas, he was right. Eli Hart was born on December 15, 2015 to parents Tori Hart and Julissa Angelica Genrich Thaler. He was described as a bright light in his community with a giant toothless smile and a mop of sandy blonde hair. This little boy was always full of giggles, and his favorite colors were green and gold.

He loved to blow bubbles, and he dreamt of being a firefighter when he grew up. Early on in his life, Eli's parents split up, and a fierce custody battle ensued. It's been alleged that Eli's mother filed several false protection orders against Eli's father. Eli also suffered from a condition known as Towns-Brock syndrome. which is a genetic disorder that affects several parts of the body. In Eli's case, he suffered from kidney issues. He also used hearing aids to assist him with hearing loss caused by his condition. Ongoing concerns about Julissa's mental health resulted in the little boy being placed in

foster care in January of 2021. Julissa had been presenting with psychosis, and she heard voices that told her to take her own life. Eli would go on to live in foster care for the next 11 months. He was placed in the Randolph, Minnesota home of Stephen and Nikita Cronberg. Now, Stephen was Julissa's cousin, but the couple served more as aunt and uncle figures, young Eli. Nikita had nothing but wonderful things to say about the little boy. She described him as an amazing kid that was full of energy and was always smiling,

the type of kid who wanted to befriend everyone. During this time, Nikita allowed Eli to work on building a relationship with his father, Tori, and his fiance, Josephine Josephson. From the very beginning, Eli had a magnetic bond with his father. Tori was excited to make up for all of the lost years with Eli. He was thrilled to start teaching his son how to ride a bike without training wheels. According to Josephine, quote, they loved each other immensely. Tori's days and weeks revolved around when he would get to see his son next and when the next sleepover would be. He was missing a piece of himself when his son was not around, end quote.

The pair enjoyed playing with matchbox cars, building things, creating art, reading books, and watching movies, and exploring the outdoors. Tori owned a bait shop in Chatech, Wisconsin, and was a lifelong angler. He was also very excited to share this pastime with him. his son. Eli picked up on fishing quickly and had such a talent for it that he caught more fish than his father did on his first day with a pole. Like many boys his age, Eli loved going to the playground and playing in the park. The little boy loved to swing as high as he could, trying to touch his toes to the treetops. He loved to swing on the monkey bars and he was quick to make new friends. With the help of the Kronberg family, Tori was able to walk Eli to school

on his very first day of kindergarten at Shirley Hill's primary school and got to take him trick-or-treating in the fall. Eli had some challenges for sure, but he certainly made the best of it with the help of his father and the Kronberg family. However, Eli was returned to Julissa for a home trial at the end of December of 2021. Tori fought hard to get custody of his son,

but unfortunately, Julissa was up to roll tricks again. More false protection orders were filed which postponed custody hearings. According to Eli's foster mother Nikita, quote, I feared if she got custody back that she would harm Eli, if not worse. I instantly responded with, you know, this is a dangerous situation for Eli. I fear for his safety if he's returned to her. There's numerous things I had brought up that were concerning that I had noticed.

end quote. Prior to losing custody of Eli, Julissa had quite the rocky pass that stemmed as far back as her teenage years. The mother was in and out of mental institutions from the ages of 13 to 18. She was repeatedly treated for drug and alcohol use and ran away from home her senior year of high school,

living on the streets for 45 days. Police had responded to Jolissa's home 21 times in 10 months. for various offenses. She had been arrested for stealing drugs from a health clinic. Additionally, she had to find a new drug testing facility because she was exhibiting bizarre behavior, and the workers didn't want anything to do with her.

However, this January 2021 incident was not the first time that Julissa had lost custody of Eli. In October of 2020, authorities temporarily placed Eli in foster care after social workers visited Julissa's home and found her son unclothed with nothing to wear in the house but pajamas. The house was completely filthy. The upstairs bathroom was flooded and someone had broken eggs and smeared them throughout the main level of the home. Eli remained in foster care through December 2021 when a judge let Julissa take him home on a treasurer. trial basis.

Court appointed guardian and county social worker Sherry Larson also expressed concern for Eli's well-being due to Julissa's mental health issues. She noted that Julissa was trying to limit contact between the boy and his father, even though Tori appeared to be a stabilizing force in Eli's life. However, there were differences of opinion within CPS despite major red flags. County social worker Beth Denner recommended that Julissa be awarded. full custody of her son despite her misgivings. Interestingly, it was Denner that reported that Julissa failed to attend weekly therapy sessions for months

and claimed that the mother lacked insight into her own mental health and behavior. She also failed to complete a parenting education program for missing too many classes. Denner also reported that she had been neglecting Eli's medical needs and would not sign leases allowing CPS access to his medical records. Denner claimed that Julissa failed to make sure her son's hearing aids were in working order and that she often brought him to school late. The mother repeatedly had unstable housing, including being forced to move for violating multiple leases.

Despite this, Beth Denner concluded that there was no indication that Eli was physically unsafe in his mother's care. Despite clear evidence of neglect, in numerous parties making statements to CPS fearing that Julissa would harm Eli, Dakota County District Judge Tim Wormiger still awarded the mother full custody of her son on May 10, 2022. Officers with the Orno Police Department conducted a routine traffic stop of a silver Chevy Impala that was traveling near Shoreline Drive in Bartlett Boulevard. The reason? police received a call that the motorist was driving without one of their front tires and was riding on the rim. Now driving without a tire generally ends in a mess of sparks flying about.

So obviously this was a little suspicious and at the very least unsafe. Upon stopping the car, officers identified the driver as Julissa Thaler. However, the missing tire wasn't the only cause for concern. The officers observed that the back window of the vehicle had been broken out, and shotgun shells and spent casings littered the interior. There was also what appeared to be a bullet hole in the back seat. Julissa's hands were bloody, and so was some of the upholstery of her car. There were also bits of what looked like flesh all over her.

She claimed that the blood was from changing a tampon, and the flesh was from a deer she had picked up from an unknown butcher overnight. She claimed that she had returned to meet her AA sponsor in the city of Mound. Aside from these obvious red flags, Julissa looked incredibly disheveled. Her hair was a mess, and she was dressed in ill-fitting floral pajamas with filthy cuffs. Even though this was clearly suspicious,

the officers allowed Julissa to leave the scene, and shuttled her to her home located at 2-400 Interlock and Road in Spring Park, about a 10-minute drive south along the northern shore of Lake Minnetonka. This would soon prove to be a terrible decision by the police. Based on its condition, the officers felt as if there was probable cause for a search. In addition, as the vehicle could not be operated safely, it needed to be towed away. Prior to this tow, the officers conducted a cursory search of the car, which included taking a peek at the contents of the trunk. What they found next would make them all wish that they had never allowed Julissa out of their sights.

Inside of the trunk of the Impala was a gray blanket, a shotgun, and the badly damaged body of a six-year-old little boy. It was Julissa's son, Eli Hart, who had just been returned to her custody 10 days prior. Upon the discovery of the child's remains, officers immediately rushed to Julissa's apartment, but by the time they had arrived, she had already left her home and her washing machine was running. Officers searched the washer and discovered the clothing that Julissa had been wearing during her traffic stop. She was trying to destroy evidence. Surveillance video showed Julissa fleeing her apartment on foot with her boyfriend and a large backpack. The two were soon located on the 4,200 block of Shoreline Drive in Spring Park.

Both were placed under arrest. As the officers cuffed Julissa, they noted what appeared to be blood and brain matter all throughout her hair. DNA tests would later prove that it belonged to Eli. When questioned by the police about what had happened, Julissa seemed utterly fixated on Eli's father, Tori Hart. After some discussion about the traffic stop and discovering Eli in the trunk of her car, Julissa said that she was done covering for her ex. She made cryptic statements to officers such as,

Do you need my ex's name? Later, Julissa said, there's stuff that I didn't tell you about my ex. she also claimed to have been attacked earlier in the day. Her interview lasted just under an hour and was started and stopped twice as Julissa would agree to talk, then request a lawyer, and then she would begin to talk again completely unprompted, but ultimately she decided to lawyer up. Soon, the officers received tips related to the whereabouts of Julissa's Chevy and Paula on the day of her traffic stop.

Just before her encounter with police, a consistent. Concerned citizen witnessed the vehicle at a gas station parked by the dumpsters. Officers subsequently searched the dumpsters and located a backpack containing worksheets and kindergarten assignments with Eli written in the top right-hand corner, along with blood, bone, and what appeared to be more brain matter. A more in-depth search of the impounded vehicle yielded copious amounts of blood and additional brain matter located on the back seats. Officers were able to follow damage done to the roads by the vehicle's rim, as well as information from citizens to track movements of Jalissa's car. They found multiple locations where blood and brain matter were discarded along with clothes and a bloody children's booster seat in another dumpster. The seat of the car had sustained damage that was consistent with that of a shotgun blast.

Julissa's boyfriend, Robert Pickeranin, told officers that over the past week, his girlfriend wanted to learn how to use a gun, so the couple paid a visit to a gun range. Not so coincidentally, Julissa bought a shotgun on March 17th and learned how to use it shortly after Eli's father, Tori Hart, filed papers asking the court for full custody. Robert told the officers that Julissa had been carrying the shotgun in and out of the apartment, and that when she did, it would be wrapped in a gray blanket, the same gray blanket that was found in the trunk of her Impala. Robert outlined for the officers the events that led up to Eli's death.

He told them that the previous day, they had spent the day shopping with Eli and then returned home for pizza and a movie. They kept the night off by playing with their kittens. This otherwise normal and enjoyable day took an abrupt turn when Eli refused to go to bed. Soon, the mother and son began fighting in his. hitting each other. Julissa then left the apartment with a little boy taking the shotgun with her. Robert said that he fell asleep and asked where she had gone when he woke up the next morning. According to Robert, she was kind of like, I had to go do something.

It should be noted that Robert was cleared of any wrongdoing and was not charged in connection with Eli's death. He was released shortly after questioning and cooperated fully with police in their investigation. If this wasn't damning enough, Julissa's internet search history included how to load a shotgun, the most powerful knockout drug, qualifying accidental deaths,

payment from life insurance if a child dies, how to keep a child away from another parent with visitation, how to fake being home to the cops, how much blood a six-year-old, can lose, and that is just a sampling of some of her searches. We'll have some of the other searches on screen for you to view courtesy of K.A.R.E. 11's Lou Regoose. When questioned specifically with regards to her search of how much blood a six-year-old can lose,

Julissa claimed that it pertained to donating blood to the Red Cross. Now, according to the Red Cross, In order to donate blood, you have to be at least 17 years old in most states, although some states do allow donations from 16-year-olds with parental consent. Additionally, you have to weigh at least 110 pounds. Additional height and weight requirements apply for donors 18 years old and younger, and all high school student donors. There are many other requirements, but these ones best fit why Julissa's excuse, was completely nonsensical and why young Eli could never have qualified to give blood.

Preliminary autopsy findings reveal that Eli was shot multiple times with a shotgun at close range as he sat in his booster seat in the back of his mother's Impala. It was estimated that the little boy was shot up to nine times, including shots to his torso and his head. Phone records showed that Julissa shot her son in a secluded parking lot, at Lake Minnetonka Regional Park. Then she drove around the region, abandoning his belongings. Let that sink in for a second. The average six-year-old boy is three and a half to four feet tall

and weighs between 39 and 60 pounds. Eli looked to be somewhere in the middle. Now think for a moment of the impact that up to nine shotgun blasts at close range would have on someone of that size. It should be also noted. that when purchasing ammunition for her shotgun, she allegedly asked the store clerk for shotgun shells

that would blow the biggest hole. This is how much of a disgusting person, Julissa Thaler is. A judge determined that Julissa was mentally competent to stand trial. She was offered a plea deal soon after, but rejected the offer to plead guilty to the charge of second-degree homicide, which carries a sentence of 40 years in prison. At trial, Julissa did. not testify and her defense called no witnesses. Her lawyer Brian Leary stated that she participated

in Eli's death but was not the one who shot him. He argued that there were no eyewitnesses, no photos, no videos connecting her to the killing. He went on to state, quote, she's not charged with the crime they have proved. She destroyed evidence, lied to police, ran away, but they have not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the gun was in her hands when it was fired nine times into her son, end quote. Assistant Hennepin County attorney Dan Allard argued that overwhelming evidence, including cell phone data, linking her to all of the sites involved in the death, proved that Julissa killed her son either for life insurance money because of her mental health or due to the stress of a custody battle with the boy's father. He also noted that Eli's DNA was found in Julissa's hair and on her skin and clothes.

According to Allard, quote, if she didn't shoot him, why didn't she tell police when pulled over, oh my God, someone shot my son, he's in the trunk, end quote. Jurors in Hennepin County District Court deliberated for less than two hours before finding 29-year-old Julissa Thaler guilty of first-degree homicide in the death of her son, Eli. heart. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty released a statement soon after the verdict was announced saying in part, quote, Eli's brutal murder is one of the most horrific cases I have ever encountered in 30 years working in the criminal legal system. Nothing will ever fill the emptiness Eli's father and other loved ones now live with every day, but I'm hopeful this verdict will make it just a bit easier to remember Eli,

as the toothless, happy, smiling little boy we have seen in photos, end quote. Julissa was sentenced Thursday, February 16th, 2023 to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of first-degree homicide. Before the judge handed down her sentence, she had this riveting comment for the courtroom. Go ahead. Um, I'm innocent. You all, you're garbage. That's where you're on.

Miss Fowler, I don't know that that's appropriate here. Prior to her sentencing, Eli's dad, Torrey Hart, and his fiance, Josephine Josephson, both spoke at points, wiping away tears from the eyes. Your Honor, everyone knows Eli Hart as the victim of this senseless and horrific crime. But Eli was so much more. Eli was an amazing six-year-old boy who always woke up full of energy and laughter. He was kind, made friends easily. loved reading books. Eli had a love for animals that was very special. Eli explored, played outside, fished with his dad.

Eli was an innocent, loving six-year-old boy. He did not deserve this. Eli deserved to grow up and have a safe and happy life. We know these things about Eli because he was our little boy. Our son, the center of our world, the love and connection he had with his son, that Tori had with his only son was something I was privileged to see. You could see the love and bond they shared every second they were together. They had this extra spark between them that everyone could see. Now we only have memories.

And they are not enough. Time was taken from us a lifetime of memories to be made gone. The moment, the ones I treasured as being a parent myself, Tori will never have those experiences. A lifetime without Eli robbed of us. School milestones that we will never get to see like graduating kindergarten in elementary school, all the artwork he would have brought home and put on the fridge,

taken. The first day of middle school and high school, prom graduation, watch him play sports, teach him to drive, stolen from us. Watching Eli grow and become a young man and what he could have been

and done in this world. We will never have those memories. No more hugs, no more snuggles. They were ripped from us, straight from our souls. On May 20th, 20, him when an officer knocked on our door and asked to come in, then asking Tori to have a seat.

The cries from my husband broke my heart in a million pieces, and then listening to the officer, tell me what happened, broke it into a million more, watching my husband sob as his brother tried to comfort him, watching the officer's hands shake while he tried to write down his number. and a small piece of paper was the moment I knew our lives had shifted forever that nothing would ever be the same the pain will never go away this will forever affect our day-to-day lives

you can't explain the loss of your only son you can't explain what that does to you or anyone then having lost him in such a horrific way you just can't explain how that changes your life how the pain is so deep you can't breathe, how nothing in your life looks or feels the same, and no one understands. Your lack of sleep at night, the nightmares of how Eli was murdered.

The struggle to go to work every day knowing Eli has no more days. How painful it is that life just keeps moving and doesn't slow down for us to grieve. No one should ever have to feel. No one should ever have to feel this kind of pain or experience, this kind of trauma. But we have been ascendance to a lifetime of this pain. Confusion, grief, sorrow, and trauma. A lifetime without Eli. The little boy who would laugh and giggle and squeal so hard when he and his dad would play at the park.

It's the sound I hope never fades from our memory. The little boy who rescued a panfish that was stuck on shore when he was fishing with his dad. The little boy who rescued, okay, just a second, I'm sorry. The little boy who rescued a baby panfish who was stuck in the shore when he was fishing with his dad. He was so proud. He came running in to tell me all about it, but couldn't get his words out because he was so excited. He was so proud. The little boy who would tell me not to be scared of bees, that they were nice and were nice.

that they were nice and we need them. The little boy that loved being on his dad's shoulders, the little boy who, when we asked him, who loves you the most, would always reply, you both do. There are no more triple hugs, no more I love you, no more memories to be made, just emptiness.

You were the happy six-year-old boy, our little boy, that we loved so deeply. Hennepin County attorney Mary Moriarty released a second statement following Julius' sentencing. Quote, we now have legal closure on this heartbreaking tragedy, but nothing will ever fill the void in the world that Eli left behind. I hope his family can slowly move forward and eventually find some level of peace, end quote. In the wake of the little boy's death, Eli's father filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking more than $75,000 in damages. The lawsuit states that DCSS provided services to Eli,

with Tori Hart claiming the county and its employees were negligent. Dakota County and two of its employees, Sherry Larson and Beth Denner, were named in this lawsuit. Eli's former foster mother, Nikita Kronberg, started to go-fund me in order to purchase a headstone and to cover the little boys final expenses. As of the date of this recording, it has raised over $45,000 of its $25,000 goal. A second GoFundMe was started by community members, including Eli's family, to build a permanent memorial for Eli Hart in the city of Mound so he could be remembered, and to raise awareness for children in the foster care system. In addition, funds raised would also benefit a new playground located in Surfside Beach in honor of Eli. The project has currently been put on hold, and as of the date of this

recording, has raised just over $32,000 of its $200,000 goal. If you'd like to know more about how you can help, we'll have all of the links below in the description. In addition, the Mountain City Council unanimously passed a resolution to rename a portion of a bridge to memorialize Eli. The city said that it would work with Hennepin County to rename a portion of shoreline drive that goes over Seton Channel to the Eli Hart Memorial Bridge. Although Eli's community has banded together to flood him and his family with love and his death, why couldn't this have been done when the little boy was still alive? Eli was thriving in foster care and had built a stable relationship with his father and his fiance. say, Julissa's failure as a mother was documented and her misdeeds were well-known to Dakota County Social Services and its employees.

So we ask you, the listener, what should be done in cases where those who are mandated to protect are most vulnerable, blatantly abandoned their post? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below.