True Crime with Kimbyr - Adrienne Reynolds' Final Search for Belonging: A Troubled Teen's Path to Tragedy: Part 3

Episode Date: May 12, 2025

In the final chapter of Adrienne’s heart breaking story, we examine the aftermath—police investigations, shocking confessions, and a courtroom drama that left lasting scars. How did justice unfold for a life cut short, and what lessons linger today? Don’t miss this powerful conclusion on True Crime with Kimbyr, where we reflect on the human cost of betrayal and violence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And Harley explained that Sarah removed both Adrian's arms and her head, and then placed them in a black trash bag. They then concealed the rest of Adrian's remains on the farm. At this point, they headed back to East Maline, and Harley said Sarah drove them to Black Hawk State Historical Site, which we're going to refer to as the park, because that's how it's referred to by the locals. This is a 208 acre piece of land in Rock Island County that runs along the Rock River. Sarah led Harley down a hill where they found a covered manhole not too far from the water's edge. Sarah allegedly dumped the trash bags containing Adrian's head and arms into that hole and covered it back up, placing leaves and sticks on top so it did not appear to be disturbed. Honestly, I cannot even believe that this even happened, but it gets crazier, I kid you not.

Harley said that the reason she had been so distressed in the weekend leading up to her confession was not because she was upset. about what happened to poor Adrian, but because, wait for it, she was worried about losing Sarah. Yes, that is correct. Losing Sarah, how can anyone have so much hold on another person? It is beyond me. According to Harley, Sarah was solely responsible for everything that happened, but I think most of us would probably beg to differ. But okay, with this new information from Harley, she agreed to take law enforcement to the park

and show them where Adrian's remains had been disposed of. Around 11 p.m. that Tuesday night, Harley guided officers, including Sergeant Shekel, Detective Fultz, and Sergeant Steins, down a wooded path to the manhole, where she claimed Sarah had disposed a part of Adrian's body. As Sergeant Steins and other officers removed the manhole cover and looked inside with their flashlights, they caught sight of a black trash bag.

Sergeant Steins was then lowered into the 8 to 10-foot deep manhole to retrieve this item. And when he did, he could see what appeared to be a charred human hand protruding from the torn plastic. And that is equally horrifying and heartbreaking. And of course, this officer would never forget the gruesome scene that confronted him because it was like something out of a horror movie. But this is real. This is a real person.

This is real life. And inside the bag where Adrienne's head and her arms, just like Harley had told them. After midnight, other investigators were at Sarah's residence, and they searched the home and the garage, and they seized a 24-inch-long wooden handle with duct tape, a glass container, two handsaws, one that was 29 inches long, and another one that was 18 inches long. They also seized a black jacket, gray pants,

and a gray and black hoodie. From Sarah's Geoprism, they took four lighters, a black leather belt, lint from inside the trunk, and on the passenger seat was a hair, and in the glove compartment was a disposable camera. Fabric from the front seats was also taken to test for possible bloodstains. By now, it was around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, January 26, when Adrian's parents, Tony and Joanne, got a knock at their front door.

And when they opened it up, they saw law enforcement standing on their doorstep and asking to come inside. That's when they knew the news was not going to be good. And my heart breaks for anyone who's had to get news like this. The detectives at first sounded hopeful when they told Tony and Joanne, They'd found Adrian in the park and were going to be making an arrest. But this makes me sad because the couple's world came crushing down just moments later after a long pause filled the air and they learned that Adrian was no longer alive. She had been found, but she was found dead. And it was like everything was in slow motion. As horrifying as this was

according to Joanne, police didn't tell the couple that at that point, their daughter had also been and dismembered. And I wish they would have as hard as it would have been for them to hear that in the moment because the grieving parents were left to learn this detail from a press conference just hours later. Can you even imagine? It was terrible enough that Adrienne had been murdered, but to hear what happened her afterward almost broke Tony and Joanne, as I'm sure it would do to anyone. Adrian's birth mother, Carolyn, was just as shattered after hearing that she couldn't even bury Adrian's complete body because not all of her remains had been found. Around 10.30 a.m., Harley then guided law enforcement, including crime scene investigators John Hatfield and Tom Marci to that ravine at Sarah's grandparents'

farm. On the property, a blackened heap of ash was evident among the charred sticks, twigs, and melted pieces of the tarp. And as sickening as it was, officers knew they were looking at the spot where Adrian's body had been burned. This is what was left of that port. This is what was left of that poor girl. Two halves of her torso and a right leg were recovered from the ravine, along with some badly burned pieces of clothing, including pieces of an orange fabric. And we know that Adrian was wearing an orange hoodie. I'm almost about to break down thinking about this being someone's child. And I know I've gotten comments, like, don't get emotional, but it's hard. This is real and it's sad. And it's actually okay to be emotional.

And sadly, there were even signs of animal activity already evident on Adrian's remains. And her left leg couldn't be located at the time, but her left foot was eventually recovered. Police believed animals had actually carried her leg away. It's really heartbreaking. And at this point, Sarah's geoprism was seized, and that afternoon, Wednesday, January 26,

she was arrested for Adrian's murder. but she wasn't talking. While Adrian's remains were sent off for an autopsy, which was conducted the very next day on Thursday, January 27th, in the meanwhile, Sergeant Shekel and his team continue intensively interviewing everyone in Adrian, Sarah, and Harley's lives. The day after Harley's confession and Adrian's remains were found,

a student from Black Hawk came forward. Her name was Lisa, and she wanted to tell the school principal about a disturbing conversation that she had with Sarah back on Friday, January 21st. She said that Sarah had calmly asked her if you could kill someone by hitting them in the back of the head. And without emotion, Sarah then added that she was going to take this girl to a farm, beat her with a stick, and basically send her to an early grave so that no one would ever see her again. If you hear something like this, tell someone.

Because I can't believe Lisa did not report this, but sometimes it may seem like it's just a threat or a thought or a sick joke. And remember, Sarah looks dangerous. Recall people said that she did this often and she was all talk? Well, by now, Harley had also been arrested that very same day. And remember Sarah's boyfriend, Sean? Well, he gave investigators his account

of what happened on the day of the murder. He said that once the group had parked at Taco Bell, and this is really, this is really sick, that Sarah had asked Adrian for a hug. And you know Adrian, as so compassionate and kind as she was, when she went in for that hug, expecting to reconcile with Sarah. Instead, Sarah grabbed Adrian's hair and began yelling at her.

And Adrian was crying. And that's when Sean asked Sarah to stop. And she snapped back at him that if he didn't like it, he could get out. Sean felt like there was going to be a fight, and he didn't want to be there. So he claimed he got out of the vehicle and walked to do it.

school. Later that evening, Sean said that he called Sarah, but she didn't want to talk to him. And then the very next day, Sarah came to his house and told him she wanted to break up, that she had lost all respect for him. Because apparently, she found out that he told a neighbor about her arguing at Taco Bell with Adrian. That neighbor actually came forward and passed that information to the police. Sean took a polygraph and he was eliminated as a suspect in this investigation. Then one of Sarah's coworkers came forward. and they said they spoke to her the day after the murder, she was jumpy and nervous. Sarah actually told this coworker that she got into a fight with another girl the previous day inside her car and asked if law enforcement would be allowed to search her vehicle.

At this point, the coworker responded that if police couldn't find the girl but found evidence in Sarah's car, she was screwed. That's when Sarah explained details of this fight, saying that she knocked the girl's teeth out and then choked her, causing her to spit out blood and that Harley finished it. I honestly feel like at this point she was bragging. This coworker had no idea who Sarah was referring to because she never used this girl's name,

but I want to switch gears and talk about something unique to Black Hawk's English curriculum. Now every student was required to keep a journal which was turned in to the school at the end of each day. Law enforcement poured over the journals of those close to Adrian looking for any clue to guide them in a particular direction. They were finally able to read Sarah's journal after one of her friends, Tansy Jensen, turned it over. Now, another friend had given it to Tancy, and that other friend was told by Sarah to dispose of it, but she never did. And it's a good thing, because inside, the investigators found things that revealed an insight into Sarah's psyche. There was a stylized sketch featuring the words, hate, kill, destroy in all caps. In one entry

prior to meeting Adrienne, Sarah had written that people didn't keep journals for themselves. they kept journals for other people. She said that the only safe place for your thoughts is in your memory. And in another entry, she wrote that she needed a vacation so she wouldn't hurt anyone or herself. Sarah's journal revealed her plans of asking Adrian out for lunch, but Sarah had no intention of smoothing things over. In Sarah's entry from Friday, January 21st,

the day that Adrian went missing, Sarah had written about a girl who she was calling Jiffy, and we know who she gave it. that nickname too. She proceeded to call her a stupid B-word and said the girl needed to back off of Sarah's Kool-Aid. It seems like Sarah really like to use slang words, ones that I actually haven't heard before I used the way that she used them. But Kool-Aid referred to Harley and Sean apparently. And the entry concluded by saying that she was going to effing kill this girl in question. I think we've seen enough to know exactly what happened. But I want to go back to the

autopsy because Adrian's remains were dismembered and severely charred. It was nearly impossible for the forensic pathologist Dr. Jessica Bowman to determine the exact cause of her death at the autopsy. Pieces of the blue tarp had fused Adrian's head from the intense heat of this fire, and she still had her earrings on and a bracelet on her right wrist. However, she was missing a necklace that she always wore and it was later revealed that Sarah had actually stolen it. This was an incredibly challenging autopsy. You're dealing with charred remains. But Adrian's internal organs and some of her bones were still visible. Due to the extreme heat, her hand muscles had actually contracted, and it left her hands

in a claw-like position, and 90% of her skin looked like charcoal. But the pathologist was able to determine that Adrienne had sustained two blows to the head prior to her death. However, neither one of them were severe enough to be fatal. And the exact cause of death was undetermined, but it was likely caused due to strangulation or smothering. By the time Adrian's remains had been set on fire, she was actually already dead. And there were no indications of drugs or alcohol in her system, according to her toxicology report. On Sunday, January 30th, a week since Adrian went missing,

over 400 people, including Adrienne's family, friends, and her coworkers, attended her memorial service. The guitar that Adrian received for Christmas, along with its broken string, was on display among all the flowers, the posters plastered with Adrian's pictures. People in attendance were wearing pink ribbons, and Adrian's honor. Meanwhile, there's more to tell you, because this case gets even more convoluted. Someone else came forward to the police with some possibly incriminating and highly disturbing evidence. A woman named Pat Corbin had a really weird feeling in the days following Adrian's disappearance.

She wondered if her 16-year-old grandson Nathan got dead knew more than he was letting on. He also had a troubled background and a history of drug use. Nathan had moved in with Pat after he was evicted from where he was living. His parents, were also divorced. They were still in his life, but he chose to go live with his grandmother. Now, Nathan didn't know Adrian very well, but he was good friends with Sarah for about the past two years. He met her through Harley. They had gone to school together. Pat recalled that on Sunday, January 23rd, Sarah and Harley actually picked Nathan up and they'd gone somewhere, but she had no idea where, but she knew that Nathan was wearing a backpack. Well, that night, when he came back,

Pat noticed that Nathan was just sobbing uncontrollably in his room. And she just couldn't push away this nagging feeling that something was up. So on Wednesday, January 26, after Sarah had been arrested, Pat went down to the basement, and she found Nathan's backpack. And inside was her husband's hacksaw. And that's when Pat called the police. They arranged to interview her grandson, Nathan, who denied ever being with Sarah and Harley on the day of the murder.

He told investigators he'd seen Sarah that evening when they hung out with some other friends, but she hadn't mentioned anything. Nathan stated that on the afternoon of January 22, Sarah did call him. She actually asked Nathan what he would do if he killed someone, as in how would he dispose of the body? And then she told him, flat out, that she and Harley had killed Adrian. And she asked Nathan to help them get rid of her remains. Now, Sarah knew Nathan not only had a strong stomach, but a fascination with gore. He was known to be a very sadistic person who liked to kill small animals and then chop them up. Please report that. But Nathan stated that he didn't really believe Sarah and Harley at first. It sounded too crazy to be true, but then he realized they were not kidding.

They were absolutely serious. Nathan told the investigators that Sarah was open about the fact that she invited Adrienne to lunch as a plan to get her to go with her so she could kill her. To him, Sarah seemed like she orchestrated the whole plan, but Harley had participated equally in the actual murder. Sarah was the one who told Nathan to dismember Adrian's bustle. Nathan said he felt like he was more involved now and he was unable to back out. So he agreed. In his mind, he said he wanted to help Sarah and Harley stay out of jail. But I'm sitting here thinking it's probably impossible to work through that reasoning, considering he already knew what Sarah and Harley had done.

And again, I don't know how this girl, how Sarah had so much influence on other people, it's actually scary. It's like these people are under a spell. And Nathan told Sergeant Shekel that on Sunday, January 23rd, Sarah and Harley picked him up and he had his grandfather's hacksaw with him at the time in his backpack. The group then drove to the farm where Nathan proceeded with the unimaginably sickening task of dismembering poor Adrian's charred remains. He said he removed her legs, which had partially detached in the fire, her arms and her head, and then he sawed her torso in half horizontally before Harley placed the head and arms inside a black trash bag. Are you kidding me?

It just seems too crazy to be real. And then Nathan said they took the trash bag with them into Sarah's car and drove to McDonald's for lunch. So they had a little bite to eat after what they did? It's unconscionable. Before driving to the park, where Harley disposed at the bag in the manhole, and then Sarah instructed him to clean the hacksaw

and take it back to his grandparents' basement. The investigators were shocked that now we 13 had come forward, admitting to be involved in such a heinous act. On January 31st, Nathan was charged with concealment of a homicide, but because he cooperated and volunteered the information that he did, it was a juvenile charge. The next day, February 1st, Sarah and Harley were both charged with two counts of first-degree murder in addition to concealment of a homicide, and they both pleaded not guilty,

and were held on a $1 million bond and would be tried separately as adults. Another memorial service was held for Adrian, and this time was on February 5th, in Longview, Texas, where she had previously lived, lived with her biological mom, Carolyn, and David. The couple joined 200 people attending the service at Emmanuel Baptist Church. Carolyn wore a pink sweater in Adrian's favorite color, and she featured a photo button with a picture of Adrian on it. At the front of the church was a pink flower arrangement on an altar

surrounding a picture of Adrian in a pink photo frame, two pink candles, a pink teddy bear, and a slideshow played, showing happier times in Adrian's short life. Accompanied by the song Friends by Christian artist Michael W. Edrian's best friend from Texas, Carleen spoke during the memorial, and she embraced Carolyn as they both fought back tears. Carolyn then thanked everyone for coming. And Adrian was cremated. Her ashes were divided between Tony and Carolyn. In Illinois, her ashes were scattered at the Molene Riverside Cemetery next to Tony's sister, who passed away 40 years earlier at just five and a half weeks old. The remainder of her ashes were sent to Texas where Carolyn had them buried in an unmarked grave.

By now, Adrian's DNA was found on the hacksaw, and on February 23, Nathan pleaded guilty to concealing the homicide. At his sentencing on March 30th, he apologized for his role in disposing of Adrian's body. But for the Reynolds and the judge, it wasn't enough. Nathan knew where Adrian was the whole time while her family was worried. He chose not to do the right thing and come forward to relieve their suffering. Judge McLean ultimately sentenced Nathan to a juvenile penalty of five years. Law enforcement continued their investigation. that gathered more evidence in preparation for Sarah and Harley's upcoming trials.

At this point, a local man named Glenn Roach, who had been having lunch at Taco Bell, came forward, and he told police it was Friday, January 21st, and as he was leaving the restaurant, he noticed a red vehicle in the parking lot rocking back and forth and a number of people were inside. He thought someone inside was being beaten up, but because the windows were fogged up, he kind of felt like it might be a couple kids falling around, so he didn't do anything. Sarah's grandmother also came forward. She said on January 21st, it was her birthday. And that afternoon, while she was working at the Treasure Hunt antique store,

Sarah and Harley came into the store around 4 p.m. And Mary thought her granddaughter was there to wish her a happy birthday. But then she noticed that Sarah was quiet and fidgety. Sarah's aunt Della was also there at the time. And she noticed a scratch on Sarah's face and it was fresh. She asked her how she got it and Sarah explained that her and Harley were wrestling. I know that's not true.

Sarah's sister Elizabeth also told police that in the hours following the murder, she actually helped Sarah hide a few things, a gardening tool, a shovel, as well as Adrian's necklace. But of course, at the time, Elizabeth didn't know this was Adrian's necklace, she didn't know Adrian was missing, or anything that had happened. She had no idea that these items were used in a murder.

Of course, with all of this happening, the community of East Malin was reeling. Things like this did not. happen in their community. Adrian's friends as well as those within Sarah, Harley, and Nathan circles were shocked. They were in disbelief about what they're hearing. It was just too extreme to even contemplate it being true. Students who heard Sarah making threats in relation to Adrienne thought that she was all talking only joking. But many of them felt that Harley could have stopped

what was happening and chose not to, which was exactly what I mentioned earlier. And I know you will give me your thoughts in the comments and I will read them. because even if Harley had no idea about what was going to unfold in that car, she had the choice to stop Sarah from attacking Adrienne, but instead she turned on her friend and she played a role in this murder. No one could understand how something like this could happen, let alone be committed by two teenagers, and it led many people to wonder who were Sarah and Harley anyway underneath at all.

So I want to take a moment to tell you. Maybe this will provide a little bit of insight. Sarah Ankle was born April 23rd, 19, She had grown up in East Maline and spent her childhood on her grandparents farm. Her father, Tom, was actually a police officer, but Sarah's parents divorced when she was only eight years old and the family was living in Idaho at the time. Sarah didn't have much contact with her dad after her mom moved them to Illinois, and she didn't really get along with her mom either.

She originally attended Rock Island High School, but due to anger issues, the behavioral problem, self-harm, alcohol and drug abuse, she was enrolled at Black Hawk in December of 2003. And she managed to stay out of travel with the law. She only had a traffic citation by the time of her arrest. And we know when Adrian arrived, Sarah took an instant interest in the new girl. But apparently Sarah's friends knew that her intentions were not pure. Sarah liked being a leader.

She wanted to mold Adrienne into someone who followed her around and did whatever she wanted. Kind of more like a cult leader. And by this time, Harley was also on the scene. Harley was born November 2nd, 1987. Her parents also divorced when she was only 8 years old. And she and her younger brother, mainly lived with their dad. Harley had a history of marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy abuse, and began

drinking alcohol at only age 14. She never had any behavioral or academic issues, and she loved playing sports, but she really struggled socially. Then she began hanging out with Sarah, and Harley's mom, Teresa, noticed a change in her personality. Harley became withdrawn from her friends and family, and Teresa really felt that Sarah was a bad influence and very controlling. And Harley seemed totally obsessed with Sarah and was very happy to see her. And was very happy to see her. follow her around no matter how toxic the dynamic was. But now let's jump back to the trial. While the death penalty no longer exists in Illinois, it was in place back in 2005.

And even though both Sarah and Harley were being tried as adults, the prosecution announced they wouldn't be pursuing the death penalty because the killers were minors when the murder occurred. But if they were convicted, they would be sentenced to up to 60 years in prison. 17-year-old Sarah's trial got underway October 31st, 2005, at the Rock Island County Courthouse before Judge James Teros. Now, the prosecution theory of the case, let's go there. They believe that on January 21st,

despite all the bad blood between them, Adrian couldn't believe it when Sarah reached out to her and asked her to go to lunch. Adrian was excited. She hoped the girls could call a truce and put everything behind them. But when they arrived at that Taco Bell parking lot, things changed. Sarah then started accusing Adrian of being promiscuous.

And then she and Harley both attacked Adrian together, with one of them striking her in the head with a stick. The young girl was choked to death before Sarah and Harley drove out to Sarah's grandparents' farm where they attempted to dispose of her body by setting it on fire. Sarah and Harley didn't realize that it's not like what you see on TV or in the movies.

A human body doesn't just disintegrate. And they didn't think they were going to get caught. But that's when they realized they were over their head. And when it came to a motive, prosecutors argued that Sarah was angry about Adrienne's possible romantic interest in her boyfriend, Sean, as well as hooking up with those other boys and her friendship with Harley. They said that Sarah was consumed by jealousy and annoyed by Adrienne's constant pleading to be friends.

And Sarah was also furious that she was no longer at the top but the popularity pyramid at school. So she decided she was going to teach Adrienne a lesson. Not only that, she also wanted to send a strong message to Harley about who really ran things in their friendship, which is why she invited Harley along in the car. There was nothing to suggest that Sarah ever had any form of mental impairment. Harley didn't testify against Sarah, but Nathan did. He was the prosecution star witness. Even though the defense challenged his integrity,

they claimed that he was lying in order to secure a plea deal. The defense's case, are you ready for this? I'm going to tell you what they argued. It was that Sarah was completely blameless and innocent, and that Harley had been responsible for the entire thing. Wow. It's like they didn't even try to work on a real defense. All they did is completely flip Harley's narrative. The defense argued,

it was Sarah who was afraid of Harley, not the other way around. The defense called five witnesses, including Sarah's family, friends, and other people who spoke on her behalf. They testified that Sarah was the one that was bullied. She was a supportive friend and a good student, and she suffered from being treated badly by her peers and her family, and she had a very difficult relationship with her mother.

So they're totally placing her in the victim's role. And guess what? It's not a surprise to me. Sarah also took the stand. in her own defense. She testified that on January 21st, she picked up Harley and her boyfriend Sean and drove to school. When they arrived, it was then that she started hearing rumors that she was going to beat up Adrian. Then she later said she heard Adrian wanted to be with her boyfriend Sean, so she admitted to feeling pretty angry. And that's why she wrote in her journal that she

wanted to kill Adrian. Hmm. This sounds really, I don't know, far-fetched maybe. Sarah then told the court that she extended the lunch invitation to Adrian because Adrian approached her crying saying she had no friends. Sarah said she still didn't like Adrian, but she felt bad for her, so she had her come along. Sarah laid out her version of what happened next. She said in the car, she confronted Adrienne over pursuing Sean and being intimate with other boys,

and she grabbed Adrian's hair, telling her to stay away from them. But Sarah claimed she backed off when Adrian curled up in the fetal position and started crying. Sarah said, it was Harley that started choking Adrian from behind without warning, forcing her into the backseat. Sarah testified that Adrian was unable to escape from Harley who had her across her lap beating her with a stick and pressing it up against her throat. According to Sarah's version,

she told Harley to stop and that's when Harley struck her in the face with that stick and broke her nose. Harley was hysterical. The next thing Sarah knew, Harley told her that Adrian was dead. And she testified that she saw Harley wrap her belt around Adrian's neck to make sure she was dead and then covered her with a coat. Sarah testified she was in shock at what happened and she denied strangling Adrian. Sarah told the court the following Harley's instructions. That's why she did everything else. Drove back home, didn't speak about anything because she just saw someone kill someone. Later, she said that Harley apparently instructed Sarah to drive out to her grandparents farm. and that's where Harley wrapped Adrian's body in a tarp,

doused her with gasoline, and set her on fire. Sarah said she couldn't even bear to watch, but Harley was threatening to kill her, her family, and her cats as she told anyone. She claimed that dismembering Adrienne's body was all Harley's idea. Isn't this convenient that everything is someone else's idea? On cross-examination, Sarah told the court that the witnesses who testified against her were all wrong

and had fabricated their evidence, So essentially, everyone's lying except for Sarah. And during her time on the stand, this girl had an air of defiance about her. She was openly so rude and she responded to questions with more questions. It's like she wanted to run the show and the trial was her stage. The jury retired to deliberate. After 15 hours, there was an outcome, but no verdict. It was a hung jury on all charges.

Eleven jurors thought Sarah was guilty, but the foreman was holding out. This lone juror didn't feel that Sarah wasn't responsible, but they just weren't convinced that the state had proven that she was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. On November 16th, a mistrial was declared, and this was devastating to all of Adrian's loved ones. Now they had to sit through this all over again. That is a major setback. On February 6, 2006, Sarah's second trial began, and this time, it was 60 miles away. They got a venue change due to the extensive media coverage. This time, the prosecution went with a little bit of a different argument because maybe they were worried about proving that she murdered Adrian beyond a reasonable doubt.

They told the court that even though Sarah may not have actually killed Adrian, she was responsible as the orchestrator. She initiated the confrontation in the car and escalated the situation by beating and choking Adrian before Harley, in Sarah's words, finished her off. Again, Nathan testified for the prosecution. But unlike her first trial, Sarah decided not to take the stand. probably a good thing, and the defense rested without calling not even one witness. This time around when it came to jury deliberations, the process was much smoother. It only took 10 hours and they reached a verdict. On February 22nd, Sarah was found guilty on all charges.

And I agree with that verdict. Harley's trial had also been moved for publicity reasons, but instead of it even happening on April 27th, she pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death. She got a plea deal, and this was made because they believed that had Harley not confessed, there was a strong possibility that Adrian's remains would have never been found. Instead of the 60-year maximum sentence permitted under the law, the state agreed to seek a maximum of only 40 years for the murder. Harley was ultimately sentenced to 40 years for the murder conviction and then an extra five years for concealment. So there was a total of 45 years behind bars, which was the maximum.

The court determined that Harley did have a long history of drug use, and then, and it had led to a general impaired judgment. She also had no prior criminal records. They took that into account. And she did demonstrate genuine remorse. Despite Harley's apology, she actually later denied killing Adrienne, claiming all she did was loosely hold the belt up

after Adrian was dead and Sarah placed it around Adrian's neck. Before I wrap up, let's get back to Sarah for one moment because she was next to learn her fate at the sentencing seven weeks later on August 29th. Tony and Joanne gave very moving victim impact statements. Joanne spoke of how she was still unable to sleep or enjoy anything in her life anymore.

Joanne couldn't stop thinking about the horror that Adrienne had experienced. And Joanne's eyes, Sarah had given the death penalty to someone who only wanted to be her friend. Tony told the court how Adrian's life had started to turn around when she got to East Malin. For the first time and a long time, Adrian seemed happy. Tony never let an opportunity to go by

for him to tell his daughter how much he loved her. and he said her smile made him feel complete. For Tony, Sarah had taken everything away from him, and her punishment should be no less than the maximum. Then it was Sarah's turn to address the court. She expressed remorse, but she never admitted to the murder. She said she was so good at not feeling anything in her life that she felt nothing as Adrian died.

Judge Taros told Sarah that she didn't care about anything following the murder. All she cared about was covering her tracks. She was cold and callous and was never going to change. In the end, Sarah received 48 years imprisonment with three years a mandatory supervised release on a first-degree murder charge plus five years for the concealment of a homicidal death. And this was to be served consecutively.

This totaled 53 years in prison. Of course, Sarah filed a motion for her sentence to be reconsidered, but it was denied and I'm glad, and this wasn't the last time she tried to appeal and do all kinds of things. None of them worked, luckily. In the wake of Adrian's death, Tony and Joanne established a memorial fund in her name because they wanted to raise awareness within schools and families to implement programs and initiatives to prevent teenagers from bullying each other and violence.

I want to tell you something that happened in the aftermath of all of this. On April 16th, 2012, then 23-year-old Nathan died in a single-vehicle car crash out in Indiana along with two other people. His Chevy had been traveling along South Victor Pike and Monroe County, when the driver lost control and struck a tree. It's very tragic, but you know what? I'm sure some people would say, it also could be karma.

I'll let you decide. Today, 36-year-old Sarah continues to reside at the Logan Correctional Center in Illinois, and according to prison records, by the time she would become eligible for parole, it would be 2053, and she would be 64 years old. Harley is also 36 years old,

and she resides at Pontiac Correctional Center in Illinois. She will become eligible for parole in 2000. 47 at the age of 59. Adrian is the one who truly matters. And the one who tragically is no longer with us because Sarah was too insecure and jealous to deal with rejection. And she wanted to have power over people.

And she felt like if she couldn't control them, she had to get rid of them. But another reason that Adrian is no longer here is because the one person who we know could have intervened to save her, Harley, made a different choice. a cowardly choice that took the path of least resistance. I don't want Adrienne to be remembered

for what Sarah, Harley, and Nathan did to her. That's not what Adrienne's memory means to so many people who loved her, including her family, and especially Tony and Joanne. They stepped up. They provided her a safe and loving home. Adrian was headed in the right direction. She had her whole life ahead of her.

For someone who had already overcome so much in her short life and was putting in the hard work to get back on track, this makes Adrienne's loss, even more senseless. Her spirited personality, her eagerness to make friends, and connect with people on a genuine level and the determination to make something of herself are the traits I want you to remember her for, and what her loved ones will never forget. Tony keeps a photo of his daughter in his vintage Mustang, a 1966 model that replaced the car that Adrian loves so much. Her spirit also lives on in Tony's poetry. In closing, I'd like you to stay and listen to Tony's words in a poem that he wrote,

remember his daughter. Quote, you played the hand you were dealt. Even though it wasn't good, you held onto it, and you did the best you could. You were dealt to be my daughter, I was dealt to be your dad. No matter how the game turned out, you're the best hand I ever had. The story has been completely unbelievable and heartbreaking. And I thank you so very much for being here today for Adrienne's story.

Please share this with someone you think needs to hear it. I will see you in my next video. Bye.