True Crime with Kendall Rae - Her Crush Killed Her Over a Pregnancy Scare: The Murder of Ole Miss Student Ally Kostial

Episode Date: March 14, 2024

Ally Kostial was a 21-year-old student at the University of Mississippi, who was loved by many friends, and was seen as a real go-getter at school. All she really felt was missing from her life was someone to share it with. When she met Brandon Theesfeld, she thought she had finally met someone worth connecting with. But Brandon would turn out to be dismissive of her and her feelings. Their relationship was never official, but was constantly on-off. When Ally took a pregnancy test and told Brandon she was pregnant, everything changed for the worse. Suggest a Documentary Case: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA... Check out the National Center For Victims Of Crime: https://victimsofcrime.org/ Donate to NCMEC through my campaign! https://give.missingkids.org/campaign...  Shop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shop This episode is sponsored by: Quince Rocket Money Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - [e-mail]

Hello everyone and welcome back to True Crime with Kendall Rae. Thank you so much for joining me today and if you're new, then welcome. So today I'm going to be talking about a case that has been highly requested and I figured it was finally time to talk about it because the five-year anniversary is coming up of when Ali Costel was murdered back in July of 2019. So I thought now would be a good time to remind people of her story and what an incredible woman she was. Now what happened to Ali is unimaginable, truly. It was so, so unnecessary and especially heartbreaking to learn about because it was so preventable.

And she was only 21 years old. I mean, just starting out her life. And her case is one that I think really needs to be told. It's so important to her friends and family that her name stays out there, that people remember her for who she was. And that's also a really important reason to cover it. But also, I think it's important for other young people to hear Ali's story and for other parents to hear Ali's story as well. But before we jump into this case, I wanted

to quickly give you an update, an exciting update going on in Jessica Easterly's case. Now, if you didn't know, I cover Jessica Easterly's case. Now if you didn't know, I covered Jessica Easterly's story years back. And then in December, I published a documentary on her case called 530 days. And I filmed it back in August of 2023 down in New Orleans. It was an incredible experience working with her family on this one. And very recently, her sister texted me and let me know that Jessica, not Jessica Easterly, but another person that we interviewed in the documentary, told her friend Steve about the doc and he watched it and was like, Oh my God, how is this guy not arrested yet? Referring to Justin. And Steve is actually a cameraman for WVUE

Fox eight NOLA. And he went to his boss and told him you got to do a story on this. Well that story came out this week. Well by the time you see this it'll be a week ago. But because of that a lawyer saw that news story and has decided to take on their case pro bono. And it's just so good to see that there are good people out there that are willing to help families in need and especially families who have been treated so poorly by the systems that are set up to help us, but oftentimes don't.

So I just wanted to share that things are hopefully moving in the right direction for Jessica's case. Justice is far overdue and for sure not out of reach. This case should be solved and Justin should be behind bars. And with that being said, I wanted to let you guys know that my company, Mile Higher Media is planning on producing more documentaries. We are already in the process of working on one and we are also looking for families to collaborate with in the future.

And I wanted to let you guys know that we are putting out a form where if you are personally connected to a case, and I can't emphasize that enough, personally connected, it's really important to us that we collaborate with a family who is willing to be part of the process with us. We find that to be the most effective way to do this. So if that is you and you are looking for coverage

on your case, you're not getting the help you need, you're not getting the media attention you need, we would like to help. And I will have a form linked below if that's you or someone you know would like to submit a request. And we will take a look at the case. And with that being said, I wanted to quickly thank you all for your support on 530 days. For all of you who watched it and supported this family. They just had an incredible experience and felt so uplifted after that came out.

And also there was tons of feedback that was incredibly valuable to my team, both positive and negative feedback. There was a lot of constructive criticism, so thank you for your support. Also just wanted to let you guys know, I am still sick. I am 17 days into this cold. It will not go away. I'm super congested and I know I sound different. So thanks to everyone who was super kind to me about it last time, but I just wanted to give you

that warning that, yeah, it's not been great. But with all that being said, let's go ahead and jump into Ali's case. Like I said, today we're talking about Ali Costel. And at first I thought her name would have been pronounced Ali Costel. And I really hope I have it right that it is Costel. Most resources that I found pronounce it as Costel. So, again, really hoping I'm getting that right there.

But Ali, amazing person. She was a student at Ole Miss and it was the school that she had always dreamed of attending. It was really where she was at her happiest. But unfortunately, it was the place where she would meet the man that would eventually take her life. She deserved so much better. And I cannot say enough how She deserved so much better and I cannot say enough how much my heart is with her family and friends because what an unnecessary and tragic loss So we all know that when it comes to clothes it's truly better to focus on quality over quantity Having high quality essentials that are gonna last you a long time that you can pair with multiple different outfits is really the way to go. I'm sick of buying things that might feel like a good deal but they don't hold up, they

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Her full name was Alexandria Madison Costell. However, most of her loved ones called her Allie. She was born September 11 1997 to her parents, Cindy and Keith. Along with her brother, Andrew Allie was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, which is where she lived up until she went off to college. Growing up, Allie was said to have been an incredibly happy child and it really seemed like that never changed. As I was learning about her, it became clear to me that she was someone who wholeheartedly radiated happiness and positivity. Allie was someone who you could have known for one day and she would have treated you

with the same kindness and empathy that she gave to those she had known her entire life. I feel like we all kind of know those people who just instantly put you in a better mood when you're around them, just because of how genuinely nice they are. And that's what Allie was through and through.

In fact, many people describe her as a light that was never not shining and they can't remember a time where she didn't have a smile on her face. And not only was she an incredible daughter, sister, and friend, but she was also a talented athlete and student. While attending Lindbergh High School from 2012 to 2016, she was a member of the track team and the field team and the golf team, the cheerleading squad, youth government, and even national honor society. And honestly, I don't even know how she had time for all of this, but outside of school and all the other activities she did, she also practiced yoga, was very passionate about

yoga and also trained for and ran a half marathon. Not to mention the fact that on top of all of her other extracurriculars, she went to Peru and Africa in pursuit of helping young children learn to speak English. And so you can easily see why Ali was so special and so loved and cherished by those in her life. Friends say that she was incredibly loyal and always gave the advice

that you should not be afraid to be who you are. And by all means, Ali really lived by that advice. Ali was very true to herself in more ways than you could count. And since her death, her loved ones have had to try their best to fill this incredibly big hole that has been left in their hearts. Now, as I mentioned, Ali went on to attend college

at Ole Miss, and this was something that she had dreamt of since she was a child. She had always wanted to go there, so that was a huge accomplishment for her. I mean it was really fulfilling a dream. When I say she loved Ole Miss, I mean she really loved Ole Miss and there were several reasons why she had always wanted to go there. For starters, Allie really loved the preppy lifestyle that the school had to offer. This was something that she was really into really into Ali was truly a what you could call a girly girl She loved pink. That's why I made my background pink for her today. She loved pearls

She loved sunsets so much so that she actually had an Instagram page called sunsets by Ali that was dedicated to sunsets that she took pictures of I just thought that was so cute and special but of course she had other more Important reasons that she loved Ole Miss and wanted to go there. She also liked the academics they had to offer, the general atmosphere, and the fact that football culture was so big. Her mom Cindy said that her daughter also just fell in love with how beautiful the campus was and the fact that there were flowers planted everywhere you walked.

And I think you can really just see in her pictures from her time at Ole Miss that that is really where she wanted to be. And she felt at home there. Allie also decided to join a sorority, which is huge in the South, obviously, and a business fraternity. And not only that, she started and ran a golf club.

Plus she even taught yoga and Pilates in her spare time. So clearly she was busy. But of course, before all of that, she was there to get her degree. She wanted to get her degree in marketing. And even though she had so much going on, you know, several extracurriculars and was doing well in school, she still maintained a good social life as well, which doesn't surprise me after learning about her. She was that type of person that could juggle a lot

and still do well at all of it, was just able to pull it all off, which is pretty cool. But in her eyes, the only thing that was missing was a boy to share it all with. And just like a lot of people, when they go off to college, they hope that maybe they'll meet the one there, you know, that person that they're gonna share it all with. Allie loved southern boys and southern culture, and she hoped that going to school in Mississippi would help her find the person that she'd spend

the rest of her life with. Because meeting someone, getting married, and starting a family was one of Allie's biggest dreams. And unfortunately, Allie did meet someone at Ole Miss, and it was fellow freshman Brandon Thiesfeld, who was not who she thought he was. Actually, he wasn't who anyone thought he was. Brandon was capable of doing truly evil things that no one in his life had ever pictured him being able to do. So it all started Ali's freshman year, which is such a crazy time. God, I remember the highs and lows of being a freshman in college. It was truly wild. And I think that's because you're just, you know, getting used to freedom. You're really finding yourself. You're meeting so many other people that it can be one of the most exciting but also one

of the most overwhelming times in your life. And this doesn't just apply to people who go to college. I think the experience of leaving high school and kind of venturing out into the world on your own is just so overwhelming, especially if you're someone who grew up in the same area most of your life and went to school with the same people, you know, saw the same faces every day and then suddenly you're just exposed to so much and it's overwhelming but also really exciting. I remember loving it, but I also struggled with it a lot because I am a pretty introverted person. I'm not great at meeting new friends and introverted person, I'm not great at meeting new friends. And Allie was kind of the opposite.

She was someone who fully embraced this new adventure and meeting all these people. I mean, she was super extroverted and just loving it. She made so many new friends and included in that was Brandon Thiesfeld, fellow freshmen from Fort Worth, Texas. And Allie developed a crush on him right away. And throughout their years at Ole Miss, they spent a lot of time together. But I do want to mention

right off the bat that even though Allie and Brandon were said to have been dating on and off for about three years, they were never officially boyfriend and girlfriend. I'm going to explain what their dynamic was like. And some of you may even be able to relate to that, but it's just important to note that they were never, you know, official. I think the term seeing each other was a good way to describe the relationship that Ali and Brandon had, although I know that's pretty vague. However, their relationship was pretty vague. I've seen the term hooking up as a way to describe them. I've seen the term hooking up as a way to describe them. I've seen the term friends and benefits as a way to describe them. I've even heard

dating. Although to me, dating means going on dates and Brandon was not doing that for her. He had gone with her as her date to a couple of her sorority parties. So maybe you could consider those dates. But outside of that, he didn't never like took her out on a date. In fact, there were even times where he would straight up block her number for weeks or even months at a time. So very on again, off again, nothing official. And Ali, I think wanted more than that. I think it's pretty obvious that she was hoping that one day that would change. And I think what's complicated about this is that two people can be engaging in the

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And to some degree, Brandon must have liked Ali. I mean, how could you not? But from what I could tell, Ali always wanted it to be more than it was, more than just hooking up. She really wanted a relationship with him. I've even heard investigators say that they think that maybe she wanted marriage with him one day, but Brandon didn't want that. He didn't even want a relationship. And people who know Brandon describe him as a womanizer, the type of guy that has multiple girls at once that he is

stringing along, you know, making them think that it's going to develop into more when that's really not what he's interested in at all. Brandon is an extremely manipulative person who clearly used Ali for sex and for attention. And he had a power dynamic there because he knew that he could leverage the fact that she liked him more than he knew he liked her. And he could manipulate his way into getting her to do whatever he wanted. Allie's friends have since spoken up about what they knew about Allie and Brandon's relationship. And it sounds like she was always riding this crazy rollercoaster of

emotion with him. One minute she'd be so excited and happy and another she'd be crying and sad. And it's not like he ever came around to her house or met most of her friends. So all they really knew of him was what she described. And in hindsight, they think that Ali held back a lot of information about what was going on between them because they think that she didn't want them to worry about her. And I hate to think that Ali, you know, felt alone

in dealing with Brandon's manipulation. But I'll be honest, I don't know if she thought that that's what was going on. I mean, Ali was someone who saw the best in everyone. And many people believe that she didn't even realize that she was being manipulated. Her friends have said that she was someone who saw the world as rainbows, unicorns, and butterflies and that could have created somewhat of a blind spot when it came to Brandon. And that's not to say that Allie wasn't an incredibly smart girl because she was, but keep in mind she was probably 19 years old, experiencing college for the first time and getting attention from a boy she liked. So I completely understand why this blind spot may have been there. And

even if it goes without saying, I want to make it explicitly clear that even though Allie continued to pursue Brandon, what happened to her is in no way, shape or form her fault and I will not tolerate any comments that say otherwise. Because I just know from my years of being on the internet how brutal people are, but I want people to keep in mind how young she was and that her seeing the world as a beautiful place, seeing the best in everyone, that's not something she should be faulted for. And she in no way deserved what happened to her. I've just been doing this long enough

to know that people are going to say nasty things and I've seen it. I've seen it in the comments on other coverage on this case and it truly blows my mind how just mean and evil people can really be towards someone who was so violently murdered. You know I always like to give this reminder that families could very well see your comments and just keep that in mind. If what you have to say isn't helpful or kind then just don't say it. It's not that hard. Allie was doing the best with the knowledge and

skills that she had and there was no way, no way she could have known what would end up happening to her. And with that, I wanna jump forward to the summer of 2019 when Ali was entering her senior year of college, which is a big year. That summer, Ali was 21 years old and she was living in her college town over the summer, which

is an incredibly fun time, especially finally being 21. And she was staying busy. She was taking summer classes, doing her extracurriculars and spending time with friends in the college town that she truly loved. Plus in early July, her parents came to visit her. She was super, super excited to spend time with them. They went shopping for beachy home decor, made homemade meals, all the things that you would want to do if your parents came to visit. In fact, Ali even

asked them if they would stay an extra day just because she wasn't ready to say goodbye quite yet and her parents did end up having to go back to St. Louis but Ali still called regularly. But sadly on the evening of July 19th 2019 she called her parents for what none of them knew would be the last time. That evening around 7 p.m. Ali and her mom talked, you know, pretty casually just catching up, talking about their days. Ali had just woken up from a nap. She had a big test that morning that obviously she was exhausted from, but she told her mom that she was planning on going out with her friends at a bar later that night. She was really looking forward to that. But bottom line is it was an incredibly normal conversation.

I can't stress how normal it was, how normal everything seemed. Her mom had zero indication that this would be the last time that she would talk to her daughter and within just a few hours their lives would change forever. Because later that night at 1152 surveillance footage captured by a business in Oxford Square recorded a video of Allie as she was walking out of a bar alone. She can be seen looking down at her phone while she walks in the opposite direction of the bar. We know that she got picked up by an Uber and while the driver did get Allie home safely sometime after midnight,

we know that she was already in danger. The plan put in place to end her life was already in motion and the person responsible was on his way to act on it. Later that morning on July 20th, 2019, a deputy with the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department was doing a routine patrol in Harmontown alongside Sardis Lake, which is an area 30 miles north of the Ole Miss campus. And it was there at an abandoned fishing site near the water that the patrol went from a routine drive to a homicide investigation. At 10.23 a.m., the deputy came across the body of a young woman, and it was clear that she had been shot several times and that there was nothing he could do to save her at this point. And I'm sure it will surprise none of you to hear that the body was quickly identified

as 21-year-old Ole Miss student, Ali Costel, and a medical examiner would later determine that she had been shot a total of nine times. The way that investigators say this occurred was the two of them were sitting at a bench. We don't have no idea what they were doing or what they were talking about or how it all went down in those moments. But they were sitting across from each other at like a picnic bench and Brandon gets up and just starts shooting Allie. I mean there's 11 spent bullet casings, shot nine times, and they said that he just kind of did it in this circular motion hitting her from multiple angles. Truly, truly evil. Hard to even wrap your mind around someone that young

doing that to another young person who, I was gonna say someone he cared about, but I don't think Brandon really cared about anyone but himself. At the scene, first responders uncovered a total of 11 spent bullet casings, as well as Allie's purse, which had been abandoned in a ditch not far away from where her body was found. And in the purse, investigators found her school ID and her driver's license,

which is how they were able to make this quick identification. And they were also able to use these items to figure out where she lived. And from there, they got in contact with her friends and her family and were able to search her apartment, all which would be very important to this investigation. However, one thing they didn't find was Allie's cell phone. They did attempt to ping the GPS location of it that day, and they did get one hit in Oxford, but then after that, the signal died.

Luckily though, when they searched her apartment, they did find something crucial, her Apple Watch. And if you didn't know Apple Watch you know syncs with your phone and so your text messages come over there as well so they were able to learn a lot that way. There was one person that Allie was texting the night before her murder and do you want to guess who that was? You probably guessed right it was Brandon and they weren't just talking about anything, they were talking about meeting up that night after the bar. So this was huge. And if these messages weren't good indication enough on their own, investigators also spoke with her friends and Brandon's name was the only one to come up when they asked them if they knew someone who could have done this to her. All signs pointed to Brandon Thiesfeld. And so on July 19th, investigators give him

a call and get this. When investigators got a hold of Brandon and asked him to come in and answer a couple questions, Brandon said, sure, he would come in and talk with them. However, hours went by and Brandon never showed up. So they call him back and he tells them that he actually couldn't come in because he was drinking that day and didn't want to come in while drunk. So they're like, all right, dude, whatever, and ask him to come in the following morning at 830 a.m. And he agrees. But guess what? Once again, Brandon is a no-show. But investigators quickly learned that this time, Brandon was on the run. After he failed to show up at the station that morning,

investigators obtained an arrest warrant and began tracking his cell phone and credit card activity. And through these records, they could see that Brandon was driving in the direction of Memphis, Tennessee, away from Oxford. So a Bolo beyond the lookout was immediately issued for his vehicle and with the help of the Memphis Police Department's Fugitive Task Force, Brandon Diesfeld was located and arrested without incident at a gas station caliber gun matching the weapon used to kill Ali and Brandon himself still had blood on his shirt. Shortly after his arrest, he was extradited back to the state of Mississippi where he was booked into the Lafayette County jail at approximately 345 in the afternoon,

where he was held without bail. And the next morning on July 23, Brandon made his first court appearance where he was officially charged with murder. Breaking news, we have an arrest in connection with the death of an Ole Miss co-ed. Now we just confirmed the suspect is from Fort Worth. He is 22-year-old student Brandon Thiesfeld. So sheriff's deputies found the body of Ali Costil Saturday at the edge of a lake about 20 miles from campus. She was taking summer courses at the university working toward a marketing degree. On Thursday, July 25th, 2019, over 100 people gathered to honor Ali's life.

As someone who didn't have a mean bone in her body, it's easy to see why so many people showed up for her. She was a light, a true bright light in the lives of so many. And now that light was gone. Her friends say that all Ali wanted was to be enough for Brandon and she never was. And what did he do?

He killed her. And why? I mean, we will get into why later, although we don't have a for sure answer, but I mean, it seems pretty obvious to me and there's a lot I still need to get to. I may have been Allie's teacher, but clearly listening to everybody's thoughts tonight, she taught a lot of us as well. And I know our candles are burning, but Ali clearly is a light that's going to shine on in each and every one of you. She didn't deserve what happened to her. Nobody does what she didn't especially.

And I just want everyone to remember that. I want everyone to focus on how good of a person she was and how much joy she brought into the world and how positive she was, not the situation. But following the vigil, a funeral was held on July 27th at the Concordia Lutheran Church, where again, loved ones gathered in Ali's honor. But all her friends and family at this point are wondering the same thing as you probably are right now. Why?

Why did this happen? Why did Brandon do this to her? Why? Why, why, why? And the truth is the reason is sadder than you could possibly imagine. It turns out that back in April of 2019, just three months before she was murdered, Allie had texted Brandon and told him that she thought she might be pregnant. The first message about this possible pregnancy was sent on the 12th of April and two days later, Allie sent Brandon a picture of a pregnancy test. The thing is though, the pregnancy test was not an outright positive but it wasn't an outright negative either. It was sort of ambiguous. Along with

the picture of the pregnancy test, she also very reasonably asked if they could get together in person to talk. And I'm sure you can probably already guess that Brandon did not take this news well, at all. Not only would he not meet up with Allie to talk in person, he said that if she really was pregnant, he wanted her to terminate it immediately. In one text he sent to her, and I quote,

"'It's so early, you just take take a pill not keep it at all. I do not want a kid at all. I am serious. No kid at all. It will ruin my life. I will not help at all. Not to be mean, but this is how I feel and I'm not changing my mind. And that would be what Brandon told her time and time again between April and August when he refused to meet up with her. He is telling her all of this over text. Actually I take that back. He did agree to meet up with her, but he never would show up.

Every time he said they would, he just would ghost her. Allie would text and text and text Brandon, you know, hoping for support, hoping to talk through this. And he would hardly ever respond, which is just so incredibly sad. And when he did ever respond, it was never comforting, or, you know, let's talk through this further, or any type of support in any way.

All he would text her back was about terminating it. That's it. Don't want a kid, not at all, won't help. I mean, it was just, it was brutal. Now I want to say there are a lot of text messages that have been released and they are pretty disturbing. Ali talks a lot about alcohol consumption and they're upsetting to read. I have read them. However, her parents, at least during the last interview I saw of them, they said that they have not read these messages, at least her mother hasn't, and that she doesn't

want to. So I don't want to put them out there further for that reason. And I hope you can understand why I'm choosing to do that. But there was one time in April where Ali had sent him a series of text messages actually explaining how much alcohol she had been consuming. At one point she said she drank a full bottle of tequila, two bottles of champagne, seven beers and a glass of wine. And these text messages are just so heartbreaking to read. They're so disturbing.

And I think it goes without saying that with how small Allie was, this type of alcohol consumption would have most likely killed her. You know, she would have gotten alcohol poisoning. So I think it's safe to say that these were probably exaggerated, but I think it just goes to show how desperate for attention and support that she was from Brandon and how much she needed guidance, how alone she felt, how much she was struggling. And it was just a, you know, a call for help. Allie wanted something from him, anything, but he just didn't care. He had no interest in talking to her even when she is telling him that she is consuming these extremely

dangerous amounts of alcohol. And I just think that says so much about his character. Brandon is someone who clearly only cares about Brandon. And many people who know him, have spent time with him, agree with that. On top of being described as a womanizer, he was also described as a daddy's boy who constantly flaunted the fact

that his father's money could get him out of anything. But daddy's money couldn't help you this time, Brandon. Not even a little. Now, when it came to the evidence against Brandon, there was a lot, so buckle up. On top of the bullet casings that matched his gun, the blood on his shirt, and the text messages confirming

that the two of them met up that night, there was also a letter. When Brandon was first arrested in connection with Ali's murder, investigators searched his apartment and found a handwritten signed letter. Now in this letter, he didn't explicitly admit to killing Ali, but he got about as close as he could have. He wrote about how he'd always had these quote, terrible thoughts that were fueled by cocaine and alcohol and that this was the end for him. At one point he even said, I'm either going to prison or I'm going to die. And his defense attorney would later state that this was Brandon's suicide note and

that following Ali's murder, he planned to take his own life, but wasn't successful. But regardless of the purpose of this letter, it was just one of many things that pointed to his guilt. And there's more. Throughout their investigation, there were several things that came up that just can't be ignored. And I wanna walk you through all of that,

starting with what Brandon did a week before Ali's murder. On Friday, July 12th, Brandon drove from Oxford to Fort Worth in order to get his gun. He even went as far as taking a picture of it and posting it on his Snapchat story with the caption, finally taking my baby back to Oxford. Investigators also looked through Brandon's search history and what they found was truly chilling. In the week leading up to Ali's murder, after he had already gone home to Texas to pick up his gun, Brandon was googling how to get away with crimes, how to tie someone up,

as well as looking up tactical face masks, holotip ammunition, and silencers. He also looked up, get this, how Ted Bundy lured his victims. I mean, his entire digital trail told a story of someone who was about to commit a serious crime. And the creepiest part about it all is he did end up luring Allie. And he did that by tricking her into thinking that he was finally ready to talk about the pregnancy. On July 17th, Brandon initiated a conversation,

a text conversation with Allie for the first time since April and he made it seem like he wanted to talk about their situation, the pregnancy situation. He even texted her again on the 18th, this time asking her if her house was private. And just quickly put yourself in her shoes. She was probably really relieved that they were finally going to have this conversation. She probably thought that he wanted to have privacy because this is a super sensitive topic that they would wanna do away from anyone else,

that they were finally gonna have this conversation. And even though it had taken him so long, and I'm sure she was agitated about that, I'm sure she was somewhat relieved thinking, okay, we're finally going to talk. But in reality, he only wanted to make sure that she was home alone so that no one would witness her leaving with him. And he ended up texting her asking her this again on the 19th. And he must have thought that the timing was right because then he

told Ali to text him when she got home from the bars. She agreed and let him know when she was home and that's when it all went down. At 1246 a.m. Brandon's truck with his signature license plate, Take It, was seen on surveillance traveling in the direction of Allie's house. By 1 14 a.m. the same truck was seen on the same surveillance camera traveling in the opposite direction. GPS data then placed both Ali and Brandon's cell phones moving alongside one another as they drove through Oxford towards Sardis Lake. Then between 2.15 and 2.30 a.m. several gunshots were heard by people in the surrounding area and by 2.50 a.m. both phones were traveling back in the direction of Oxfordford and then less than an

hour later brandon was already looking up how to listen to police scanner and then later that morning he looked up sardis mississippi news i mean how much more incriminating does it get and over the next few hours both their phones would report identical GPS locations indicating to investigators that he took her phone and disposed of it sometime following her murder. And like I explained earlier, investigators did try to ping Ali's phone and they got a single hit somewhere in Oxford, but after that the signal went away and it didn't return. Now meanwhile, Brandon is off hanging out with his friends, drinking beers and showing off his gun as if he didn't just murder an innocent person with it. But in total with all of this,

I think it's pretty easy to see that Brandon is undoubtedly the person who was responsible for Ali's murder. And luckily it wouldn't be long until he'd be facing the consequences. On August 22nd of that same year, Brandon appeared in court for what was supposed to be a bond hearing. However, his attorney ended up withdrawing the request for this bond hearing and instead asked the judge to order a psychological evaluation.

And I'm sure you can see where this is going. The judge did approve both requests, meaning that he would continue to keep Brandon in jail without bond as well as order a psych eval. And outside the courtroom, Allie's devastated loved ones and supporters gathered and they would continue to do so until justice was served. Allie's family is deeply grateful for the prudent work accomplished by the Memphis Police, the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office, the Lafayette County Coroner's Office, the Ole Miss community, and the many others who worked tirelessly over the past few weeks on this case.

Our hearts go out to all of those touched by Ali's positive spirit and passion for life touched by Ali's positive spirit and passion for life, who are now feeling sorrow. And about a week later on August 30th, 2019, Brandon returned to court, where he was formally indicted on a capital murder charge, a charge that is punishable by the death penalty in the state of Mississippi. And surprisingly, but also not so surprisingly,

he did end up pleading not guilty guilty despite all of the evidence against him. But him and his lawyers were prepared to go to trial. And based on the psych eval, Brandon was deemed sane and competent to stand trial. But by this point, it was 2020 and we all know what that means. And we've seen this in so many cases I've covered, but because of the pandemic, there was major delays in the court system. And so his trial had to be postponed. But by the time it finally did come around, Brandon had changed his mind and decided to accept a plea deal. On August 27th, 2021, Brandon Thiesfeld pleaded guilty to the murder of Ali Costel in exchange

for a lesser charge of first degree murder. And the state ultimately agreed to reduce his charge, knowing that getting a capital murder conviction would be a lot harder and would have required a lot more proof. And that's because in order to get a capital murder conviction in the state of Mississippi, they would need to prove that Brandon committed the murder during the commission of an additional felony, which means they would need to prove that he murdered Ali in addition to in this case, kidnapping her.

Because when Brandon was first indicted on the capital murder charge back in 2019, prosecutors argued that he not only killed Ali, but also kidnapped her from her apartment in order to then commit the murder. But proving kidnapping was going to be a lot harder. So prosecutors agreed to drop the charge from capital murder to first degree murder.

The difference being that Brandon would no longer be facing the death penalty. And I'm sure many of you will have different opinions on this. The good news is he would receive an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of Pearl. And during this hearing, Brandon appeared before the judge and issued an apology to Allie's family.

His statement reads in part, "'I am sincerely sorry for the pain I've caused "'while taking Allie from you. "'My actions have forever changed your lives and my family's lives. I wish I could take it all back, but I can't. There is no excuse for my actions, and I have asked God for forgiveness. I hope one day that you will find it in your heart to forgive me." And during this hearing, Ali's loved ones gathered wearing her favorite color, pink, which I thought was really beautiful, and they listened as her mom gave this speech. She said, I wish I could have kept her away from this evil, callous, scheming, ungrateful,

sinister and violent corrupt monster. He had every opportunity to do good in the world, but he chose to do evil. Brandon, you belong in jail each day for the rest of your life for the heinous act you committed to such a sweet soul in Alley. Every time your cell door slams shut, may it be a reminder for what you did and the life you took from us." Now Brandon's parents also made a statement that I thought was valuable to hear. When I heard Brandon was being spoken to by the police, I still had no single thought it could be him. Now, after two years and knowing more of the details of their relationship, I am heartbroken for every person this impacts and crushed that

our son did not share with us any of the turmoil he was trying to manage. I encourage every parent to regularly sit down with their children, teenagers, young adults, and discuss with them that there will never be anything too big, too complicated, too out of control that they cannot tell you about. We will always pray for the family and friends of Ali Costel. I think that is a really important message for young people to hear and for parents of young people to hear as I mentioned at the beginning of this episode because it's so true. There are so many things that can happen when you're young and you don't have the capability to process it and making a rash decision can often be avoided if you were to go to your parents or to, you know, a trusted resource for help. And, you know, who knows if Brandon

would have ever done something like that if he felt like he could. I mean, to be honest, I think he's just a lost cause in like truly evil, but I think it's just an important reminder because when you're young, it's so easy to think that something like that happening is like the end of your life or there is no option or you have to make some rash, horrific decision and that's your only way out of it when that is just not the truth. And having support in your life is so important.

And this isn't just in cases of someone who is then going to go commit a murder because of it, but just something that I think is really, it's an important conversation I think parents need to have with their children, especially before they go into the real world. Now what's frustrating is Brandon never officially stated why he killed Allie, although I think everyone can agree it's pretty obvious that he did so because she was pregnant and she wasn't on board with terminating the pregnancy. She was wanting to think about it. That freaked him out.

And on July 18th, just a day before she was killed, Allie texted Brandon a picture of her stomach and said, like, it isn't like I'm not that small anymore. And I can pretend I'm fat right now, but I don't know, it's getting hard. And of course we do know from other evidence that Brandon was likely planning Ali's murder before he got this message from her. But I can't help but wonder if maybe seeing that photo,

you know, getting that text message from her was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back, that it really freaked him out and made him think, I have to do this immediately. However, Brandon does deny that the murder was planned and instead said that he just snapped while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. But I mean, you listened to all that evidence.

What do you think? Did he snap or was this meticulously planned? Now, something that I have to share that is super, super upsetting to find out is that Ali was not actually pregnant at the time of her murder. And if Brandon really did kill her because he thought she was pregnant, wow. Oh my God. And want to be clear here. That's not to say that she wasn't pregnant at some point

I mean that pregnancy test was inconclusive We just don't know and unfortunately we will never know Her parents do believe that she was pregnant some of her friends believe that she was pregnant or at least thought she was and that it's possible that she had a miscarriage due to all of the stress that she was going through with Brandon. And obviously she was very stressed out with the amount that she was drinking. That could have caused a miscarriage. We don't know. We just don't know. But we do know that she was not pregnant when she was murdered. And even with her killer behind bars, Ali's friends and family still have so many questions.

Nobody deserves to have their life taken away from them in this way, but especially not Ali. It is just so twisted and backwards to think that Ali was known to be this incredibly kind person, and she showed that kindness to Brandon that all she wanted was to be loved. And trying to give that love to someone else actually cost her her life. Now Allie's friends and family want her to be remembered as the person that she was, not be remembered for what happened to her. So in her honor, they fundraised money with the goal of dedicating the mind and body studio

located in the South Campus Recreation Center in Ali's name, which I thought was really beautiful. Raising this money and naming the studio in her honor was a major goal for her loved ones and achieving it meant the world to them. Ali loved yoga and spent most of her summers teaching it at the Student Recreation Center and she would have continued teaching there had her life not been taken. And knowing that students get to use this studio and do what Allie loved to do gives her friends and family hope that she will not be forgotten. I also wanted to help carry on her legacy and that's why this week's donation is going to the National Center

for Victims of Crime in Allie's name. This organization advocates for victims rights, trains professionals who work with victims and serves as a trusted resource of information on victims issues. They offer direct services such as attorney referrals and confidential helplines and have made a big impact on local, state, and federal levels in securing rights, resources, and protections for victims of crime. I think that what they're doing is absolutely incredible and what a better place to make a donation to in Ali's name. Her family and friends have said that they still look at the sunset and they always think of her, you know, think that's Ali. And I thought that

was really beautiful. I am amazed by their strength. I don't know if I as a parent could ever go on the way that her parents have and the way all of her friends have. I think it's really, really impressive. And even though I'm so happy that in the end, there was justice for Ali Costel, it just, it will never fill that void. It will never fix the pain that these people have been through. And she had so much life still to live. She had a really bright future ahead of her. And it just, it was all, it's all for nothing. And that's, that's what's so hard about these cases. It's like, God, you wish someone could have like got through to Brandon and, and

convinced him that there were other options but like I said, I don't know if Brandon was someone who Someone could have gotten through to you. I don't know. I don't know. It's just so tragic. It's so tragic She was just so young. But anyway, I want to know what you guys think about this one Definitely tell me your thoughts on it all below. Please keep it kind. I know there's going to be judgment on Ali and that breaks my heart. I mean, people are just truly so brutal but it's the internet. What can I do other than ban you if I see it? So I will. That is going to be it for me today guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode

and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Rae. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then stay safe out there.