True Crime All The Time - James VanCallis

Episode Date: March 3, 2025

April Millsap was murdered while walking her dog on a popular Michigan trail. Prosecutors used data from her digital footprint to help secure a conviction in her 2014 murder case. Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss James VanCallis. Some eyewitnesses saw a man on a motorcycle interacting with a young girl on the trail, and they were able to provide a composite sketch. The police had to work to put together a circumstantial case against VanCallis. Would it be enough for a jury to convict?You can help support the show at patreon.com/truecrimeallthetime.Visit the show's website at truecrimeallthetimel.com for contact, merchandise, and donation informationAn Emash Digital productionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 424 of the True Crime All the Time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson and with me as always is my partner in true crime Mike Gibson. How are you? Hey, I'm doing well. I'm doing much better than I was last week. Thanks for asking. How are you? You know, I'm over my illness. Yeah. And my wife who was sick at least one week before she gave it to me is still sick. I know. She just cannot get over. But I've been hearing from a lot of people that some of the stuff that's going around is lasting weeks and weeks. Hard to kick. Yeah, apparently so. Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shoutouts. We had Stephanie, Stephanie Scott 85.

What's going on, Scott? Amber Sweetheart. Well, hey, thanks, Amber. Scott Kane. Hey, Kane. Sidney Waddell, who's been with us forever. Waddell in the house. Welcoming her back.

Dessa. Hey, Dessa. Kelly jumped out of our high. level. Well, thanks, Kelly. Amber Palmer. Palmer. That was exciting for you? Okay. Dixie, wait for it. Normous. Well, thanks. Dixie enormous. Why did you have another E in there? I just needed to make sure I didn't say it the way that you thought I might tell you. I know. You got to put a pause in that one. Yeah. Carad Jett and last but not least, Natalie R. Thanks, Karen. Yeah. Natalie. Thanks for all the new support. And then if we go back into the vault, this week, we selected Rhonda Allred.

And Rhonda, awesome. Been with us a long time, has communicated with us a lot over the years. So really appreciate that long-term support. Communicated. Sounds weird when you say it that way. I don't know why. Why? I don't know. She has communicated with us. She has communicated. Emails, maybe even voicemails. I don't know. Gibbs, right. We dropped a new Patreon episode Saturday night, and it's on the disappearance of Jeremy Bert. So he disappeared from the Boise area in 2007. He's never been found. Police don't know exactly what happened to him.

But in recent years, there's been some things that have come to light that have led to a lot of speculation that Jeremy's disappearance could be related to an earlier missing person's case in the same area. Some interesting tie-ins. It is. You know, people are tied to both of these individuals, and it makes for some compelling speculation. We also have a brand new episode out right now on true crime all the time unsolved. What we're talking about 23-year-old Stephen Clark, who disappeared in 1992 in North Yorkshire,

so we're headed across the pond. it was almost 30 years later that his parents were arrested on suspicion of murder accused of killing their son and burying his body in their back garden. Spooky man. Yeah. So there's a lot to unpack. Make sure you check that one out. All right, buddy, are you ready to get into this episode of True Crime all the time?

I am ready. We're talking about James Van Callis. April Millsett was murdered while walking her dog. on a popular trail, prosecutors use data from her fitness tracker at to help secure conviction in her case. And this is a pretty well-known, popular true crime case to some.

I think the inclusion of kind of a type of technology that you don't think about a lot, maybe draws interest from people. You know, you and I talk about it all the time. What type of data? digital footprint, you know, do we leak everywhere we go? Yeah. And you think about, okay, you have your phone with you. That thing is chock full of data. It is. How many people think about something like a Fitbit, though, or like an exercise type of technology that's not directly related to their

cell phone, I would say. Yeah, I mean, Fitbit, a Garmin or whatever different ones that are out there. There's a bunch of out, a bunch of them out, turn. Now, most of them, I think nowadays are tied into your phones, but April was only 14 years old when she was murdered. She lived in Armada, Michigan with her mother, Jennifer. April was going to start high school in the fall of 2014. Her mother said she looked forward to having more independence. And I think that's, you know, what a lot of people getting ready to go into high school kind of view. view it as, you know, yes, you're graduating from junior high to high school.

It won't be long before you're able to drive. You start thinking about all these different ways that you're going to have a little bit more freedom, a little more independent. Yeah, along with that comes more responsibility, but it's fun. Now, I remember my freshman year, I was just worried that for some reason, maybe based on, old sitcom tropes that I was going to be shoved into a locker. Seniors were going to shove me into a trash can or something like that. Your first year or second year is a freshman? I think it was my first year.

Okay. Yeah. Because I know you were 17 and a half years old when you were a freshman, but chances are you were bigger than most of the seniors. I was ready for three o'clock high. You were the guy that people hired when they needed protecting. April loved animals, nature, and writing. She was described as a good student and enjoyed studying German.

And I don't know how many people actually enjoy studying German. I've never taken German. It does seem like a hard language to master. I found it a very interesting statement that I enjoyed studying German language. language. Yeah. Yeah. I know you've really big into Mandarin. Oh yeah. I got that down. And I was impressed. Yeah. Because I would love for you to keep working on your English, but you keep trying out other languages and mastering them before you've actually mastered the English language. A lot of fun. And then I do all that transcribing work, you know. Is there translation involved in the transcribing? It actually is. Okay.

We call it the double transinging. Double T's. On the evening of July 24th, 2014, April laughed to take her dog for a walk on the McComb Orchard Trail, which was near her house. At 6.28 p.m., April texted her boyfriend. I think I almost got kidnapped. OMFG.

How freaky's that? Yeah, I mean, I think for anyone, boyfriend, family member, you know, a 14-year-old girl text you and says, I think I almost got kidnapped. Okay, there's going to be a little bit of fright there. For you, and obviously there was for her. Several witnesses saw April having a strange interaction with a man on a motorcycle shortly before this.

The Detroit Free Press reported that moments after sending the text, April was attacked and beaten to death. And then about two hours later, April's dog alerted two joggers to her body, which was found in a drainage ditch. So, I mean, obviously, this is an extremely tragic story. When you think about a 14-year-old girl losing her life, I also can't help but feel a lot of emotion for the dog. Oh, for sure. You know, dogs are so attached to their owners. They're so protective.

And it's hard not to get a little emotional about, you know, thinking about her dog, you tracking someone down to say, hey, come help her. Yeah, she needs help. And that's ultimately what happens. But by the time they find her, she's dead. Jennifer Millsap became worried. When April stopped answering her calls and texts, she met the police the trail. A police officer who responded to the scene testified that April's blouse was torn and moved

to her waist. Her undergarments were also removed per CBS. There were marks on April's body that appeared to be shoe prints. So either kicked or used to hold her down. Yeah. I mean, at some point, stomped, held down, kicked. None of it was good. But, I think on top of what is a very tragic murder, you know, when you look at a woman who is found in this state of undress to the police, you know, one of the first things or one of the first thoughts has to be, okay, was there some type of sexual assault as well? A witness reported that they saw a man on a motorcycle. interacting with a teenager on the trail,

they provided the description for a composite sketch, which was released in late July 2014. Investigators also received tips about a blue and white motorcycle that was driven by a young man with a black helmet. Okay, that's pretty good stuff. It is. Because you think about a lot of the cases that we do, especially when you kind of delve into some of the unsolved,

when you boil it down, a lot of the times police just have so very little to work with, especially in the way of kind of eyewitness statements or, you know, things like that. But here, they've got quite a bit. People saw a young girl with a guy. Someone was able to give enough information for a sketch. They even had a description of the motorcycle. Sometimes I think it just works out that you have everything that falls in the place, right? The witnesses and the sketch and no time delay and just get moving on it.

Well, you know, when you break it down, think about what it takes to solve a crime. First of all, there's a lot of hard work by a lot of different people. You got to do things right. You got to do things by the book. But I would think, Gibbs, there has got to be. in almost every case, a little bit, if not a lot of luck. As you said, kind of people seeing things, kind of stumbling sometimes upon the right clues or the right information.

I don't want to denigrate the police in any way, but I just have to believe that luck plays a factor in solving some of these cases. Sure. And the police welcome that luck. Oh yeah, they're definitely not going to turn it down. On July 30th, the police executed a search warrant. At a home in Wales Township as part of the murder investigation, they arrested 66-year-old James Bernard Van Callis

and 32-year-old James Donald Van Callis, father and son. They were charged with delivery and manufacturing marijuana and maintaining a drug house. But they were not charged, in connection with April's murder. Okay. So I get it. A lot of sons and dads,

they like to do things together. You know, I'm going to try to find maybe a shared hobby. Yeah. I don't know how many have a shared hobby of manufacturing and distributing marijuana.

You just want to be close to your son. And maybe it was a matter of, you know, kind of bringing him into the family business. I don't know. It just seems so strange. My whole life, as I think a lot of people do, you don't want to look bad in the eyes of your parents. Now, I'm assuming this guy didn't look down on his son because he was already doing all this stuff. Yeah, exactly. But most parents would look down on this type of behavior. The Times Herald reported that James Bernard Van Callis

is a registered sex offender convicted in 1995 of second degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13 and fourth degree criminal sexual conduct with a person between 13 and 16. So a real POS. Yeah, absolutely. But yet, obviously, you know, he's out. He's able to go on with his life. Now, he's a registered sex offender, but is that really? stopping him from committing more crimes against children. It's obviously not stopping him from

being a major player in the marijuana game. What you would think would be some type of violation of parole back then. I don't know if he was on parole. Well, that's true. At this point in time, it had been a number of years. His parole had probably ended. Another search was conducted at the residence in Wales Township in August 2014. but investigators did not reveal details of the investigation. But then on August 19, 2014, the Michigan State Police named 32-year-old James Van Cowles as a person of interest in the murder of April Millsap. It was reported that he was unwilling to speak to the police.

Not a shocker. No. Meanwhile, James and his father waived their right to a preliminary examination on the drug charges, their attorney, Dean Ancuni, said, per the Times Herald, my client's home has been rated twice within a two and a half week period and they're very upset about that. They feel that the police are harassing them and they feel that they've left their home ransacked twice, now within a short period of time, even though my clients have been cooperative from the beginning. He noted that both his clients had medical marijuana cards that were valid at the time of the

search and arrest. Okay. A lot of people nowadays have medical marijuana cards or did back then. Nowadays, most people don't even need them. No, not in Michigan. It's pretty legal in a lot of places. But, you know, even 10 years ago, right, having a medical marijuana card, I don't believe gave you the right to have a big grow operation. No, I think you were limiting what you could produce. And, to distribute. I really don't think it was a kind of a free-for-all license. Yeah. I think,

they have got glaucoma. Yeah. I have a card. I'm allowed to do this. I just had a little bit extra, so I thought I'd sell it. The following month, and Cooney said he expected James to be charged with murder,

but believed he was wrongfully targeted. And what else is he going to say as a defense attorney? Oh, yeah. My guy's guilty. And I think they got the right guy. On October 8th, 2014, McComb County prosecutor Eric Smith announced that James Van Callis was charged with first-degree murder, felony murder,

and assault with intent to commit sexual penetration. He told the public, once you clear a thousand tips and so many suspects, and the only thing that keeps popping up is James Van Callis, it just added to the, the weight that we believe that now we have enough to charge. Well, if the common thing is always James, you got to go with it. Boy, it sounds like they had cleared a lot of potential suspects.

The one person they couldn't clear was James Van Cowell. Yeah. The prosecution intended to present physical and electronic evidence as well as eyewitness testimony, placing James at the scene. During his bond hearing, an officer told the judge that James ambushed April from behind, using his motorcycle helmet as a weapon, then took her into a wooded area on the trail, where she was killed. April's cause of death was asphyxia due to neck compression and blunt head trauma.

So, I mean, you know, you just, you feel so horrible for a young, 14-year-old girl who is not doing anything wrong. No, she was just out enjoying the scenic walk with her dog. With her dog. Yeah. And a monster comes along and makes a decision that he's going to do something horrible. And I witnessed saw a man on a blue and white motorcycle speaking to April just before she texted her boyfriend.

prosecutors theorized that April rebuffed Van Callas and he attacked her when she turned around. He attempted to sexually assault her but was interrupted by a witness who helped create a sketch of the suspect. James' mother, Brenda Pupy, spoke to the Times Herald and maintained her son's innocence after he pleaded guilty to a drug charge on October 20th, 2014. She told the Times Herald, James is a great father. He's a great kid. He wouldn't do this. Well, you know, moms, they're always going to defend their children.

Yeah. I mean, how hard would it be for a mother to come to terms with their child, son or daughter, being a murderer and doing all these really horrible things that, you know, police officers or prosecutors are saying that they did? you certainly wouldn't want to admit it. Because in a sense, you could say, you could say reflects on yourself. And I'm sure a lot of mothers of murderers do that. They go back and say, did I do something wrong?

What could I have done different? Was it something I did that pushed him or her into doing this? Most of the time, I would say no. Now, we have covered quite a few serial killers whose moms have not been the greatest influence. That's true. Or dads. And they've even said in some interviews, their parents are the reason. They are the way they are. Yeah. But by and large,

I think most people who kill, it's not because of their mom. Right? Their mom didn't do something so horrible. It caused them to kill. Both James and his father pleaded guilty to manufacturing marijuana. Their other charges were dismissed. In November, James was sentenced to a year in prison with credit for 118 days served and 30 days suspended upon completion of a drug program during

sentencing it was noted that he had a history in the court system and I don't know why these guys wouldn't plead guilty to that charge you know especially the younger James he's facing a much bigger battle sure and if you've already spent 118 days in prison and you're getting 30 days suspended. Okay. What do you got? Six months or so? Yeah, it's not much time. And he's going to be in there anyway, you know, waiting on this trial. Former attorney Dean Ancuny said James, his father, and his mother had medical marijuana cards and were authorized to grow 12 plants each. But they had 52 plants at their home. They claim they grew additional plants because their initial 36 plants were unsuccessful.

Those over there, they're no good. Those didn't really take very good. So we're not using those. But I mean, you know, we joked about it earlier. He is making a pretty good point. Okay. You're allowed to have 36. You have 52, which technically is

above the limit. But it's not like, you know, they had a thousand plant. Yeah, they weren't like big time producing extra plan. Yeah. And, and when you talk about distributing, okay, well, how much are you really distributing if you only have X number of plants more than you're supposed to? Now, they may not have been smoking any of it and distributing it all. I don't know. Yeah, but you're technically, he's saying they're allowed to have the 36. So is there that much coming off of those other plants that? Well, they don't, not enough to have a nationwide, you know, drug pushing system.

No. Obviously. James Van Callis's preliminary hearing for the murder case began on December 15th, 2014. Prosecutors added to kidnapping charge that day. But, you know, let's go back to the drug charges for a minute. I just wonder, you know, did they have the younger James Van Callis on their radar for this murder and did that play into the drug charges in any way? Potentially.

You could get him behind bars right away. Sure. While they were still investigating him and trying to shore up the murder charges. It's a way to keep them within reach. And off the streets. Yeah. Potentially. Witness Mary Stein testified that April gave her a tight.

tight, tense smile. As she passed her on the McComb Orchard Trail around 6.25 p.m. on July 24th, 2014. April was walking away from a man on a motorcycle who looked angry. This man was later identified as James Van Calle's. She and her husband thought it was a pretty strange encounter. The following day, Stein heard that a girl was murdered on the trail, so she called the police. And, you know, I go back to that description. A tight, tense smile. And I'm taking that to mean, like she knew something was wrong. Right. By the way, you know, this girl was acting, the look on her face. And then over two weeks later, she saw James Van Callis on the news and called the police again to report. That's the person who I saw on the trail. In court, she said she had no

doubts about her identification. Two additional witnesses testified to seeing April on the trail with a man on a motorcycle. One of them identified James Van Calle's. I mean, the prosecution's loving this. Well, you have two positive identifications. And I think that would go a long way with a jury. FBI agent Matthew Zenz testified that he used April's phone data to reconstruct her route, a long the trail using a fitness app that April had opened while she was walking, he tracked her route and pinned the location where April sent her last text. Minutes after she sent the text, her phone remained in the spot where her body was found for about 15 minutes. Three calls were made from this location. The phone then moved away at a high rate of speed around 30 miles per hour

to the area where her backpack was found. And then it stopped in a rural residential area where her phone was found on July 25th. And this is the type of technology that we have today and have had for a while now. Right. You think about all of the data that is tracked on your cell phone. And it's quite a bit from location. This is aside from cell towers and what cell tower your phone is pinging off of and all that stuff. There's just so many apps on our phones these days that track our location,

where we've been, where we are at any given point in time. You're very, very correct there. I mean, I have a fitness app on my phone that I know. It will tell you that you have not worked out in a long time. it's like, hey, get off here. Get off your ass. No, but I get you right. It'll,

it'll track a walk. It will. Yeah. And then not just where you were, but probably timestamp it as well. Oh, it does. Yeah.

And you think about how vital that type of information is in any investigation. It could be used to, you know, tie someone to a murder. It could also potentially be used to, clear someone. That's true. Yeah. Officer Philip Newmire testified that April was found 20 to 30 feet from the edge of the trail in a drainage ditch.

Her clothing was pulled down and she had abrasions on her neck and face as well as bruises and swelling. Some of her teeth appeared to be dislodged from being hit so hard. Yeah. I mean, we talked about it. The prosecution theorized that, you know, he hit her. with his motorcycle helmet. Yeah. That's just brutal to think about. It really is. James Van Callas was bound over for trial on December 16th.

During the second day of the hearing, James' ex-girlfriend, Crystal Stadler testified that on the night of the murder, she woke up to find James cleaning his shoes. He was using a sock and hand sanitizer to scrub off what he said was oil. first of all, I very rarely clean my shoes. Now, I don't get them dirty because I don't leave the house a lot. Yeah, you're just down here. That's one thing.

I don't wear shoes a lot. But, I mean, how strange would it be for someone to wake up and find their partner cleaning their shoes? Unless it's something they do all the time and you're used to it, you're going to be like, what's going on? Assuming this is not something you've ever seen them do. before at that time of night. And what's with the sock and hand sanitizer?

Yeah, I mean, I know you have this other thing you do with a sock and hand sanitizer, but, you know, again, what does it have to do with what he's doing? With cleaning a shoe. Yeah. Right. That doesn't make any sense. Crystal testified that when he came to bet, he said that he messed up and he needs me to stay by his sock.

Okay. Well, yeah, I think if your partner says that to you. you you got to be thinking pretty ominous thoughts and i think if he was honest and told her why he messed up she'd be like there's the door exactly don't let it hit your ass on the way out a key piece of evidence in this case were the shoe prints on april's body investigators were unable to find the shoes they believed van callis was wearing on the day of the murder crystal testified that he was wearing Jordans. But Michigan State Police Sergeant Raymond Peckman said James told the police he was wearing

K-Swiss shoes on July 24. I know you like Jordans. I do like Jordans. And I remember K-Swiss kind of being in vogue when I was in high school. I don't know if I ever owned any. I didn't know that men, a lot of men were wearing K-Swish shoes in, let's say, the 2014. time frame. Maybe they were and maybe they still do today. I don't know. I couldn't afford K-Swiss.

A worthy off-brand. Jay Swiss? Yes. Yeah. I knew it was going to be something like that. How much did you get made fun of is the question? Husky jeans and Jay-Swiss. How well did that go together? It was a lot of fun back then. It was a good thing you were a big boy and could handle yourself. Now we know why he carries a K-bar. Crystal also testified that on July 25th, James asked her to tell the police. He was wearing case with shoes the day before. Okay.

I mean, what are you thinking if you're Crystal? I messed up. I'm going to need you to stay by my side. Also, can you tell the police I was wearing this brand of shoes? Yeah, I'm going to need you a lie for me during this murder case. Sergeant Peckman interviewed James after the police traced a motorcycle. parked at a home on Armada Ridge Road to his Wales Township address, James cooperated at first and showed the police his bike, his helmet, and his case was tennis shoes.

When the police returned a few days later to get a written statement from him, he was very irate on the phone. Peckman said that he was hollering at me, stating this was a witch hunt that I could get a written statement, but it would be through his attorney. I guess he thought it would just go away. I mean, if he showed them his bike, his helmet, his shoes, yeah, maybe. I'm kind of thinking that, you know, if you're going to lawyer up, is it better to do it right from the beginning? And I think the answer is yeah.

Yeah, for sure. Van Callis admitted he was in Armada on the day of the murder, but denied any involvement. The defense argued that there was no DNA evidence found on James's motorcycle. helmet, attorney Azar Sheik said, per the Times Herald, there's nothing that has come back from any lab report on my client indicating any kind of DNA from April Millsap on him. And that would be very hard to do with the viciousness and the sort of injuries that were just alluded to. And I think that is a pretty fair statement. You know, this sounds, as we've described to be a very horrible attack.

You would think, Gibbs, if you're hitting someone with the type of force that we believe James was with a motorcycle helmet, that there would be

blood flying. You would find some DNA on him. Yeah, you'd think there'd be some trace. Or on that motorcycle helmet at the very least. Eric Servinac,

trace evidence examiner, testify that he analyzed footwear impressions at the crime scene and several shoes provided by authorities. April had shoe impressions on her chest, neck, and even above her right on. The herringbone pattern seemed to match a pair of Jordans purchased by the police for comparison. After the hearing, Prosecutor Eric Smith said neither the Jordans nor the hoodie and sweatshirt James was wearing had been found. So, you know, talking about, you know, DNA evidence, physical evidence, was it because he got rid of everything he was wearing, he was able to clean up very, very well? Possible. Possible. That day, Van Callis was transferred to a mental health unit. His attorney explained

that he might have made a comment about being depressed because he wasn't expecting to be bound over for trial. And, you know, maybe that goes back to something that you said, you know, did he really think that if he just cooperated a little bit, you know, he showed him his bike, showed him his helmet, that he was just going to walk away from all of us. Yeah, see, it wasn't me. So my bike, my helmet's clean. Here's my case with us.

I'm good, man. And even after the preliminary hearing, it sounds like he thought he was just going to be going home. He was not going to be going to trial, but he was definitely wrong. In January 2015, it was decided that Van Callis would be evaluated for competency and criminal responsibility. In March of that year, he was declared competent to stand trial. But you know what? You have to go through that exercise. Yeah, you do sometimes, especially if there's even an inkling that he might not be competent. I don't know what that inkling was other than his attorney saying maybe he was depressed.

During a September hearing, a judge ruled in favor of a defense motion asking for crime scene photos. Prosecutors argued that these photos violated child pornography laws because April's clothing was removed by her attacker. And I thought this was really strange. Normally, you know, prosecutors want to put in or get admitted all the crime scene photos. That shows the brutality. It shows, you know, what this person did to the victim.

Yeah. But here they're fighting it. And it's the defense that's putting forth the motion asking for crime scene photos. Well, it came out that the defense wanted an expert to review the photos to determine what level of rigor mortars had said in, which might conflict with the prosecution's sequence of events. Well, if they can prove the timing is not lining up the way the prosecution has stated, that would benefit their client. Jury selection began on January 14, 2016. In opening statements, the prosecution argued that the murder was random and occurred after April rebuffed Van Callis's

sexual advances on the trail. He hit her on the head with his motorcycle helmet, dragged her in the woods, stomped on her and beat her to death. He pulled her clothing off because he intended on raping her. The prosecution presented 188 exhibits, none of which included DNA evidence, fingerprint, hair, or fibers.

It's a lot of exhibits, though. It is, but none of them are including, you know, some of what we think of as kind of bombshell type evidence to a jury. However, Van Callis was captured on camera, on his motorcycle at an Armada gas station before the murder, and witnesses were confident. They saw him on the trail. He was also captured by an outdoor surveillance camera, riding his motorcycle past a home in Armada at the same time.

April's phone data indicated it was moving at a high rate of speed in the same area. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. It doesn't. But here again, what you and I are talking about a lot these days is circumstantial evidence. And a lot of cases are tried on a great deal of circumstantial evidence. But, you know, then it's up to the jury to make of that evidence what they will. Yeah. I think it's much different when you have sometimes.

type of forensics expert say, okay, we found this, this and this. And the DNA says there's a one in a trillion chance that it's anyone other than this person. You know, this is more, hey, he was in the area. Hey, we got him on camera at a gas station. You've got the phone data. I'm not saying it's not enough, I wouldn't call it a slam dunk. Deputy medical examiner Mary Petrangelo testified that April suffered 48 injuries, most of them in the head and neck area. Most likely from the helmet and from the stomping. Yeah, she suffered blunt force injuries. She had bruises, scrapes, and bleeding around the eyes, jaw, neck, the inside of her head and injuries to her trachean. And I always think about the family, you know, as you go through these trials.

And the prosecution has to lay out. They have to show the jury, right, exactly what happened to the victim. But how hard would that be for the family who's sitting there? It'd be really rough. I'd just want to get up and beat the guy's ass. Yeah. I mean, if you thought he did it and the prosecution obviously thinks he did it. Yeah.

It would be hard to contain your stuff. but you're already going through the grief of losing her. And now you're learning exactly what happened to your daughter. I can only imagine how terrible that must be. The same herringbone pattern appeared on her face, neck, and upper chest, which authorities said were shoe prints. The deputy medical examiner agreed that the pattern was consistent with a shoe print, which indicated someone stood on a.

April's neck. Amanda Police Chief Howard Smith testified that a few tips pertaining to Van Callis related to the composite sketch. Another person said they hadn't seen Van Callis ride his motorcycle in a while, most likely because the authorities had it at that time. Smith testified that authorities canvassed every neighborhood in the village. April's backpack was found during this search. A resident with security cameras turned over all his video footage, including a video that showed a motorcycle, passing by the home around 6.30 p.m. On July 24th.

Smith told the jury, he ordered a pair of Nike shoes in Van Callis's size to see if they matched the imprints on April's neck. Lab tests on the tread pattern could not be excluded. And again, we've said it, right? They didn't have the exact shoes, but it was said they were very similar to the pair Van Callis often wore. And I think if you're on the jury, okay, it's known that this guy wears Jordans.

Where are these Jordans? Why all of a sudden does he not have them? Yeah. I think that's a thought that would be running through my mind. Same here. James's ex-girlfriend, Crystal Stadler, testified that she found wadded up human hair in grass. In a pocket of the hoodie, James wore on July 24, 2014.

She found it when she was washing his clothes. A few days later, she put the hair and grass on a sink and never saw them again. The hoodie disappeared as well as the black and white Nike shoes he was wearing when he left on his motorcycle to go to his brother's house in Armada on July 24. And we talked about it, right? she did testify about waking up to find James cleaning the shoes. So again, put yourself in the mind of a juror. This woman knows what he was wearing that day. Yeah. And she is saying, I don't know what happened to the hoodie, but it disappeared.

His shoes disappeared. Two to two together. What do you get? More than four. No, I'm just joking. But not only did the shoes go missing, but so. did a shoebox that held Crystal's important papers. The defense emphasized that there was no forensic evidence linking James to the murder.

They questioned Crystal's testimony and what she told the police during interviews. Crystal admitted she was nervous about testifying and might not have told the police everything at first because she was scared of James, who she said was controlling and abusive. Well, and I understand that, right? if you know that if he finds out that you're cooperating, that you could end up paying the price for that. That's a tough decision. Sure. And you might hold back.

Well, let's face it, testifying in a trial is pretty nerve-wracking on its own. Yeah. And then you add in testifying against a boyfriend who you say is controlling and abusive. I can see why, you know, she might have held back a little bit. The defense also argued that GPS timestamps from April's phone were not an exact match to the times given by the cell phone carrier. The prosecution presented evidence about the search of a computer from the Van Callis home. Some of the searches were how to have sex with a girl, what to do when a girl says she has a boyfriend.

and how to attract younger women. And these were all searches made in the months leading up to the murder. Very strange and disturbing. Very strange. How to have sex with a girl. What does that mean? I mean, obviously, this is a guy who had a girlfriend. Right.

I'm assuming at some point he was experienced sexually. So that leads me to believe when he says girl, he means girl. Exactly. Not another woman, girl. And that kind of dovetails into how to attract younger women. The searches were made while Crystal lived in the home. But she testified that she wasn't allowed to use the computer or cell phone and communicated with people via Facebook on her tablet. She left the house on July 29th and did not return.

James's brother, Donald Van Callis, testified that James, James, asked him to delete all their text communication in July 2014, he refused to do it. All right. I know I've asked you before, Gibbs, but you know, you have a couple of brothers and what would be running through your mind if one of your brothers texted you and said, hey, or just asked you, said, hey, please delete all of our text communications. That'd be a little concerned. Like, why? What have you done this time. And obviously there was a reason. He refused to do it. Donald testified that he texted home to James at 6.44 p.m. on July 24th to let him know he was getting close to home. James called him several times while he was working that evening. James was coming to his house to get

money for dog food. James rode his motorcycle to the home and stayed for about an hour. Donald gave his brother $60 before he left. He didn't see any blood on his brother's clothing or motorcycle. Two days later, the police came to Donald's house. He wanted to help and was willing to show the police his phone, but not give it to them. And then later, he told the police he lost his phone, which turned out not to be true. So not very credible. No, you lose credibility when you say things that are proven to be false. But, you know, this sounds to me like a guy who, at least in some level, is trying to protect his brother. You know, he refused to delete all the text messages, but when it came down to it, you know, he said to the police, yeah, you can look at my phone,

but I'm not giving it to you. And then later, he must have changed his mind because he said he lost it. Yeah, I don't have it anymore. I don't know what happened. to it. At trial, Donald was asked about James's shoe collection. He said his brother owned 15 to 20 pairs and was very meticulous about taking care of them. All right. I might rub some people the wrong way here, but I don't see why a man needs 20 pairs of shoes. Oh, I know guys that have 50 pairs of shoes. Not me. I mean, you know, I have like three or four pairs. Right. That's about what a guy needs. Now, there are guys who collect sneakers. Yes.

Basketball shoes. I get that. Sure. But to have 20 pairs of shoes that you're actively wearing. Oh, yeah. I don't see that. No, I don't get it. I get the collector side, you know.

Michigan State Police Crime Lab expert Ed Servineck testified that he was asked to compare 11 pairs of shoes to the shoe impressions on April's body. he eliminated 10 pairs, a pair of size 12 Jordan flight, the power shoes. Similar to the ones authorities believe James owned could not be eliminated. But he also couldn't say that they were an exact match. So as a jury, I don't know what you make of this because he's saying, well, I can't exclude it, but I can't with 100% certainty say it's a match. and we can't even say that for sure this is what he was wearing because we don't have. Right.

So it's kind of like, we think this is the shoe, but it might not be the shoe. James chose not to testify in the defense didn't call any witnesses. In closing statements, attorney Azar Sheik argued that there was nothing tying James to the murder. And there was no evidence linking him to April after a review of self-reveillance. phone data. And I completely understand why the defense would not want James to testify. You know, most of the time they don't. But especially in this case where, you know, again, a lot of the evidence is circumstantial. I think the last thing you want is your client opened up to questioning. You know, it seems as though the defense and calling no witnesses,

they're basically saying, hey, the state's not proven their case. We don't have to do anything. We feel pretty good about what we're sitting right now. Assistant prosecutor William Codoldo countered that cell phone data put James in the area around the time of the murder. And witnesses identified him as the man on the trail. He was seen at a gas station in an armada before the murder and was caught on video, driving past a home in Armada shortly after. The prosecutor also noted that testimony indicated James's motorcycle helmet was so clean. It didn't even have his DNA.

It's very clean on it. The prosecutor showed the helmets of the jury and described how he used it to beat April before he attacked her and removed her clothing. The prosecutor said it took April about 10 minutes to die. And I'm sure this was something that was really. really emphasize. Sure. Right? You want the jury to feel for this victim in 10 minutes of abuse and torture.

Suffering. Suffering. Is going to go a long way in your favor. Finally, the prosecutor informed the jury of a creepy video retrieved from James' cell phone. Not only was he filming a 15-year-old girl in a car next day. him, but he was also wearing the missing shoes. Oh, okay. You don't have the shoes, but you have him wearing them in a video. So we know you used to have the shoes. And why all of a sudden do you not have them along with the hoodie? And what the hell are you doing? Taping a 15 year old.

I'm sure you had some dads on that jury. Oh yeah. That probably weren't happy about that fact. William Cotaldo told the jury that April could have been anybody's daughter. And that's a true statement. But what is its intent? Of him saying that? Yeah. I think he want to have the jury put their mindset that that could have been my daughter. Right.

If you let this guy off, next time it could be your daughter. Yeah. On February 8th, 2016, James Van Callas was found guilty, a first-degree murder, felony murder, kidnapping and assault with intent to commit sexual penetration. On March 30th, he was sentenced to life in prison. Good. Yeah. I mean, if he's guilty, to me, that is a more than fitting sentence.

But like I said, I think for the jury, this had to be a little bit of a tough one. They're not dealing with a lot of physical evidence. Now there's a mountain of circumstantial evidence. And obviously Gibbs, that was enough to get them beyond the issue of reasonable doubt. Van Callis maintained his innocence at the hearing. He argued there was no evidence. He committed the crime and no witnesses to positively identify him. He said, is quoted by the Detroit Free Press.

This is a sad chain of events that somehow I'm wrapped up in. I don't know her. I've never met her. I've never seen her. He called the case of fraud, arguing that he did not receive the requested discovery and that photos of April were different at trial. He claimed he wasn't able to properly defend himself. Now, what else are you going to say? Of course. You know, he's not going to come out and say, yeah, I tried my best, but they got me. And, you know, they did a good job. And I actually did all the things they said I did. April's mother, Jennifer Millsap, said in her victim impact statement, per the Times Herald. You James are a damn thief. You stole my beautiful daughter's life and you stole the rest of my.

My life has totally changed. Since April was killed, my life will never be the same. I will always miss April and will continue to hold her in my heart. I never thought this could happen to my daughter or to me. unimaginable to go through something like that. Yeah, but I really want to focus on her words. Yeah, he did steal a beautiful daughter's life. He did. But he also wrecked and changed a lot of other people's lives associated.

Sure did with her. And you know, you have Jennifer saying, my life will never be the same. There is absolutely no doubt about that. when your young son or daughter is murdered, your life can never be the same. It doesn't mean that you can't and won't have moments of joy and happiness, but most people say there's not a day that goes by that they don't think about their murdered loved one.

I would think it would be a tough road to get back to any sense of happiness. Yeah, absolutely. James's mother, Brenda, shouted as he left court. James, we love you. We'll get you out. We will. She told the press that the police better keep working because they have the wrong person and they know it. So two mothers at complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Now, they both love their children. Sure. Yeah, I get that. One, who's law. The daughter believes 100% in this man's guilt, but his mother believes 100% in his innocent. And to her, she lost his son. And she'll never stop fighting to get him out. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction in sentencing on January 9th, 2018. Van Callas then filed an application for lead to appeal with the Michigan Supreme Court, which was denied in September 2018.

the Michigan Supreme Court did remand the case back to the Court of Appeals to consider whether James's trial attorney was ineffective. But in December 2018, the state court of appeals affirmed the conviction again. Van Callis then filed a second application for leave to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court. Van Callis argued his attorney was ineffective for failing to challenge the admissibility of computer-generated animation, failing to object to the prosecution's closing argument and failing to present a crime scene expert or private investigator at trial. James's application was rejected in July 2019.

Again, I don't blame a person for using all the routes available to appeal. I also don't blame some of the courts for rejecting those appeals. Sure, yeah. You know, you got your day in court. You got a jury of your peers. They heard everything. They did. Now, do they get it right 100% of the time?

No. There's no way that they can. It's not an infallible system. No, they make mistakes. We know that. But they do their best. And there was a lot of compelling circumstantial evidence that he and he alone was the person who had the opportunity to commit this crime.

Yeah. I mean, you have eyewitnesses. Seeing him there. On the trail. But no eyewitnesses seeing him do it. No. And, you know, like we said, I think the downside to the prosecution's case was that they didn't have the forensic evidence that a lot of juries, especially nowadays, like, right? DNA, hair, fibers.

you know, show me all the things that I see on CSI and all the television shows that prove, without a doubt, that this person did it. Hey, if he didn't do it, what a tragic event for him and his family. Yeah. You know, but if he did do it and the jury believes he did, then he's right where he needs to be. Yeah. And again, I don't know the exact makeup, the exact percentage, but I would say a majority of cases. center around circumstantial evidence.

Yeah, sure. But here's the question. Why didn't they have any physical or forensic evidence, right? Is it because he got rid of the shoes he was wearing that day? He got rid of the hoodie he was wearing. He cleaned up his motorcycle helmet to the point where not even his DNA was on it. Which you would think would be impossible. I mean, I walk in here.

and leave DNA every time I'm here. Yeah, I think we, you know, we are all leaving DNA all over the place. You know, some of us different types. But, you know, it's one of those things where if you put a helmet on your head, there's hair, there's skin cells, there's all kinds of things, sure, that are going to be inside that helmet. Why would someone clean the helmet? Maybe that's their routine.

They do it every so often. but when you do it right after someone is murder and you're the one put on that trail, then it takes on, I think, a bigger level of significance. It doesn't just seem random. Pretty suspicious. It seems like you did it on purpose and for a very specific reason. So they didn't have all the forensic evidence, but they did have strong circumstantial evidence tying James Van Cowles to the crime scene.

And they had these really confident eyewitnesses. who felt certain he was the suspect. So, you know, when it was all said and done, the jury heard everything. And, you know, like I always say, you got to go with the jury unless it's proven later on that they just absolutely got it wrong. Yeah. I mean, the jury found him guilty. The court appeals rejected his appeal. And the Supreme Court didn't even want to hear the case.

Which is not very unusual, right? Right. state Supreme courts and especially the the U.S. Supreme Court, they hear such a small fraction of a percent of all the cases that are put before them. Yeah. But no doubt this was a very brutal and devastating murder. A 14-year-old girl lost her life. And, you know, you had family and friends who were devastated. and like we said, their lives will never be the same. No.

That's the aftermath. And I think it's much more wide reaching than we can ever realize. You think about, yeah, I get it. She was only 14 years old, but how many people had she touched in her lifetime? Yeah. Probably a lot. And all those people are devastated. But that's it for our episode on James Van Callis.

We've got some voicemails. You want to check those out? Let's hear him. Hey, this is Lori from outside of Kansas City, Missouri again. I am re-listening to all your podcasts, and I was listening to the one about Lawrence Singleton, who cut that poor girl's arms off. And you said at the beginning, he didn't have any major crimes against him, just like contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Well, I bet you back in the 70s, that was something serious, like raping a teenager, and they got it down to contributing to the delinquency of a minor because, you know, they're idiots. But love you both. Have a great day and keep your own time ticket. All right. Thanks for the voicemone. That's a great take. It could be.

Good. We've seen a lot of strange things from the 70s and that time frame. We sure have. But I guess probably while we were doing the episode, when you think of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, you think like someone gave them some alcohol or something like that. But in the 1970s, it could have been way worse and, you know, he pled down to that. Exactly. Yeah.

So great take. Hi. My name is Megan. I'm from Gloucester, Virginia. And I'm calling in because I was just listening to the Bernard Finch and Carol Treggloff intro. And I thought it was funny when you said you had never heard of the strange turn of event when the husband. when the husband and wife married in their former exes ended up marrying as well. And I thought it was a fun trivia fact that in modern day history,

this is actually exactly what Shania Twain did when she and her husband divorced. She ended up marrying the ex of her ex-husband's former wife. So I thought that was a funny trivia fact. And it was the first thing I thought it when you were talking about it and said, you had never heard of such an incident happen. So remember to watch your back and keep. keep your own time picking. All right.

Another great voicemail. I did not know that. I didn't either. I mean, I don't know why Shania didn't ask me. I don't either because I'll be honest with you.

I was in absolute love with Shania Twain. Yeah. When I was like in high school or, you know, before my, I met my wife, obviously,

you know, 18, 19. I don't remember exactly when she was big. I felt like I was in high school or just out of high school. Big for a long time, man.

Yeah. But she was, uh, she was not only an amazing, amazing entertainer, but she was gorgeous. She was. And it still is. Yeah. I saw a documentary about her and and her stage fright and stuff like that. And it was, it was really interesting. But, you know, she married this guy, mutt, which I always thought was such a, mutt lang, I think was his name. He was famous. He was famous. And, but I always thought that was such a strange name.

I did not know that after their divorce, she ended up marrying his ex-wife. husband something like that or something yeah i'll have to look that up yeah all right buddy that is it for another episode of true crime all the time so for mike and gibby stay safe and keep your own time ticking