cover of episode 100: Texas Cheerleader Stabbed to Death in Bathtub, Crazed Triple Murderer & Donna Adelson Goes WILD

100: Texas Cheerleader Stabbed to Death in Bathtub, Crazed Triple Murderer & Donna Adelson Goes WILD

Publish Date: 2023/12/14
logo of podcast Serialously with Annie Elise

Serialously with Annie Elise

Chapters

Shownotes Transcript

Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. Hey, True Crime Besties. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialistly.

Hello, hello, hello. Welcome back, everybody. It's me, Annie, and we are going to go over everything going on in the true crime world today. We've got, gosh, so many cases to talk about and quite a few updates that we're going to be talking about as well. So you're going to be with me for a minute.

I am also fresh out of jaw surgery, so I'm going to take today's episode a little bit slower, trying not to aggravate my jaw and the joint, which my oral surgeon referred to as like do not load the jaw, meaning like don't like move it a ton up and down. But I was clear to speak. But I'm just going to take things a little bit slower today to make sure that I don't aggravate it and have to end up back in jaw surgery.

So as I mentioned, there's a lot happening right now in the true crime world. There's a lot of cases that are just breaking. So they're like the little quick top of the hour updates that I'm going to give you and some of the headlines there. And then as usual, I'm going to dive into some of the mini or deep dives of some case updates, some full cases start to finish, things like that.

So what I want to kind of actually really start with is this week did hit a huge milestone. On December 11th, it marked 15 years since Kaylee Anthony was found and

I'm sure all of you listening know exactly what that case was. I remember for myself where I was when that verdict was read for Casey Anthony. I still, to this day, believe through and through that she is guilty. I would bet my life on it, to be quite honest. Her Peacock documentary was a big load of bullshit, in my opinion, but...

who knows that whatever stranger things have happened not really she's guilty but anyways it marks 15 years since little kaylee anthony was found and

That's just so crazy because it really does. I hate that the expression it feels like yesterday, but it really does feel like it was way more recent than that. There also have now been new charges against a man who allegedly shot and ran over his girlfriend who he says her pregnancy quote unquote ruined his life.

Okay, not a reason to shoot and run your girlfriend over. Maybe get a grip, bro, but whatever. There was also a man released recently from jail for assaults on his ex-girlfriend, and he was indicted for murder now after her body was found wrapped in blankets and a plastic garbage bag. It always blows my mind, these people.

Whether it's a man or a woman who their spouse or their partner, significant other, go missing and they claim that they aren't responsible even though there's a history of domestic violence and then bam, their body turns up and they're shocked that they get indicted for murder. So that happened with this guy. Also, speaking of creeps and disgustingness, a stepfather was sentenced to 29 years for the

the death of a 17-year-old disabled boy who was 55 pounds with metal implants exposed. Now,

We've talked a lot about monster parents, whether they are foster parents, biological parents, adoptive parents. So this stepfather was apparently inflicting so much hurt on this 17-year-old disabled boy who was just 55 pounds at 17 years old, which to level set my four-year-old son is, I think, 42 pounds. So a 17-year-old, I mean, come on. So luckily he was sentenced to 29 years.

Another headline that grabbed my attention was, and I'm going to read this verbatim, Grandma doesn't appear to have any remorse after allegedly shooting infant granddaughter in the face on purpose. Okay, my jaw, broken as it is, is on the floor because, like, what the fuck? Grandma doesn't appear to have any remorse after allegedly shooting infant granddaughter in the face on purpose. Like,

What is wrong with people? You know what? The fact that, I mean, I know there are so many true crime cases out there and unfortunately so many victims, and that's why there's so much content from me, other creators, news sources, everything all the time. But I kind of thought that once I started doing this weekly series where we talk about everything going on in the true crime world and kind of scrape everything, that...

over time and week after week that maybe there would be less and less to talk about, less and less to report on. But it just blows my mind that there unfortunately is no shortage of it, but actually, especially during the holiday season, there's like an uptick in these crazy crimes.

Speaking of kind of these sexual creeps, too, there was one case coming out of New York. And what was it? It was police in New York were searching for a man that they had said carried out a sexually motivated home invasion in the East Village in an apartment with a woman who was there while she was sleeping in her bed. He broke in.

Had a home invasion. It was sexually motivated, obviously. Reading between the lines, he was trying to rape her. I'm exhausted, my jaw hurts, and I'm losing faith in humanity, guys. Going back to the foster parents, because I know I skipped around a little bit, a different foster mother was indicted, this time again, for allegedly ignoring her dying disabled teenager who was coughing up blood. And this was after the first murder charge was dismissed. So let's go into...

a couple deeper dives. Those are just like the top little headlines. We don't know much more about those cases. As more information develops, we'll of course talk about it. But I want to talk about this 30-year-old kidnapper from New Jersey because there's a 30-year-old kidnapper from Jersey named Herman Brightman, and he lured women into different romantic relationships on Facebook dating apps and Hinge dating apps. And what he would do is

is he would pretend to be a medical professional in scrubs and lab coats wearing full medical uniform only to then kidnap the victims, this including a victim's two-year-old child.

child, and then would commit these very deeply disturbing and heinous acts. Specifically, after establishing a romantic relationship with each victim, he kidnapped one of the victims and her minor children at knife point, then bound and gagged a second victim while he threatened to kill her, then punched and choked a third victim, then stalked her at her workplace to ensure that she didn't report the attack to the police.

Then, he held a fourth victim hostage in her apartment and repeatedly assaulted her until she finally escaped. So...

This is a 30-year-old, guys. How awful and like how alarming is that? That not only do people like this exist, but a 30-year-old, a 30-year-old guy luring women in, pretending to be a professional in the medical field, wearing scrubs, wearing a lab coat, going on dating apps, where a woman thinks, oh, I hit the jackpot. Look at this doctor. He's interested in me.

I'm going to, we're in a romantic relationship. We're going to meet up. Only to then be like kidnapped, sexually assaulted, have your child held at knife point. It's truly sick. Speaking of truly sick, that is a perfect segue into Ruby and Jodi Hildebrandt, the eight passengers, cult leader, absolute shit storm of a case. We've been talking about it for a little while on the channel and I've done some deep dives, but...

We last time we spoke, I had said there hadn't been a hearing set yet. We didn't know when the next hearing was going to be. Well, now Ruby Frankie and Jody Hildebrandt have court dates for their child abuse charges, and those court dates are officially set. Ruby's hearing is on December 18th and Jody's is on December 27th.

In the filings for the hearing request, it's actually a waiver of preliminary hearings for both of them. And the preliminary hearing is essentially like a probable cause hearing for the judge so they can determine if there's enough evidence to go forward. And all defendants have a right to have this unless they are indicted by a grand jury or had chosen to waive it.

So, I've listened to a few lawyers give their take on this, and most of them have said that they wouldn't be surprised if Ruby or Jodi did not waive their right already, or if the prosecution hasn't already contacted the defense beforehand.

Not having a preliminary hearing could mean there are plea deal negotiations going on behind the scenes. And additionally, if either Ruby or Jody wanted to have a preliminary hearing, their lawyers would probably be screaming about it at this point since it's legally required to happen 14 days after a defendant's first court appearance. And obviously, we know that that hasn't happened.

Most of the lawyers believe that the hearings set will probably be more of a formality than anything else, so Jodi and Ruby can enter then the next phases of either deciding to go to trial or taking a plea deal, if that's something that is being negotiated behind the scenes.

So other than that information, we still really don't have too much. But I obviously, of course, I'm going to keep my eye on it and I'll keep you in the loop and keep you updated. But I did want to at least let you guys know that those hearings have been set. So next week when we have this episode and talk about updates, at that point we will have an update from Ruby's hearing since hers is on the 18th. And then we'll have Jodi's right after Christmas.

Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy, and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. An official message from Medicare.

A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

So going into the next case, I want to talk about the killer in the Riley Fox case who is now dead in prison.

So Scott Ebby, the man who confessed to the murder of three-year-old Riley Fox, recently died in prison. We covered this case in a video format over on my YouTube channel, 10 to Life, and it really is one of the most appalling cases ever. I know a lot of you guys had requested it, and it took a while to do it because there was so much information to gather, and it's truly appalling, but I think we published it, it was maybe two weeks ago now, maybe three, but it's on the main channel if you want to hear about it. But

To summarize, in June of 2004, Riley was abducted from her home in the middle of the night, and then her body was later found in a creek four miles away. Her father, Kevin Fox, was wrongfully arrested, but was ultimately exonerated eight months later by DNA evidence. In 2010, the man who confessed, Scott, said that on the night that Riley disappeared, he had been breaking into homes around Wilmington.

Scott told the FBI that the lock on the back door of the house was already broken, so he just decided to walk in. Walk in and take Riley. Once inside, he said he couldn't find anything of value to steal, so he took little three-year-old Riley.

And in his confession, he said, and I'm going to quote this, I was getting ready to leave and I looked back and I don't know, for some reason, I just fixated on that little girl. Then he said he brought Riley to a park where he sexually assaulted her in the park's bathroom and then decided to kill her after a bandana he'd worn over his face to cover his face had slipped off. The FBI said that Riley did have signs of sexual assault and was bound and was gagged.

However, her murder was later determined to have been from drowning. So unfortunately, she was alive and left to die alone in that creek. He must have thought that he had killed her, but he hadn't, and he just let her in the creek to drown. The jail has not released the cause of death for him right now, but personally, I hope that he was taken out by another prisoner and that he suffered the absolute most painful death possible.

There's been another case that so many of you guys were DMing me over the weekend over on my Instagram, which if you have a case recommendation, you can always submit it on the website, which is AnnieElise.com, or you can just DM it to me over on Instagram. It's at underscore AnnieElise. But a lot of you guys were requesting that I cover the case of the Texas cheerleader, Lisbeth Medina.

I was putting everything together because I was going to do a full episode, but then there was a lot of information that kept coming out over the weekend. There were some things that hadn't been verified, so it felt like there wasn't a whole lot of valid information that had been solidly vetted. So I'm going to wait to do the full episode, but I did want to at least let you know what we have been able to find out and what's going on.

So, Lisbeth Medina was a 16-year-old cheerleader at Edna High School in Texas, and she had dreams of becoming a nurse. She had recently moved with her mom to Edna, Texas, and on December 5th, Lisbeth's mom said that she was supposed to be at a Christmas parade with her cheer squad.

So her mom came to the parade, and then she noticed that Lisbeth wasn't there. And the rest of the cheer squad was, but Lisbeth was nowhere to be found. So she knew that something was wrong. So she immediately rushed home.

Well, when she got home, her mom immediately called 911 after she found Elizabeth dead in the bathtub. She had been stabbed to death. At first, there wasn't much information and nobody knew how or what happened. However, as news broke about Elizabeth being murdered, it quickly turned into a murder mystery situation.

One of Lisbeth's family members spoke to the media and said, "Lisbeth was getting ready to go to school. She was still in her pajamas. We have no information right now about anything. We just want answers." Well, then answer shortly came afterward.

This morning, as a Texas community grapples with the death of 16-year-old cheerleader Lizbeth Medina, investigators are now releasing new details about her murder. The loss of Lizbeth has rocked all of us. The school, all of us there at the school, not everyone in the community. Authorities telling our station KTRK the high school student was stabbed to death.

The teen found in her home on Tuesday. Edna police releasing photos of a person wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and vehicle of interest in connection with the case before arresting 23 year old Rafael Govea Romero, an undocumented male who was in the US with an expired visa. Investigators saying they were tipped off to Romero's whereabouts. He was arrested at his home Saturday night, an hour away from where Medina was killed.

Police also said that they found items in his car that linked him to the murder, but the motive in all of this is still unclear, and they don't know if Raphael had any connection directly to Lisbeth. There's some speculation that he did, and there's been some speculation that they might have been dating, but again, that's a pretty large age difference, 16 and 23 years old. So that's, again, why I didn't want to report on everything in a deep dive, because there's still a lot of information that

is getting confirmed, getting vetted. But that's what we know right now. The motive's a bit unclear, but he has been arrested. And right now he's being held on a $2 million bond.

Speaking of crazy men and murdering men and all of that, let's talk about Charlie Adelson. So Charlie Adelson was sentenced this week to life in prison plus 30 years. This was for his role in the Murder for Hire conspiracy plot to kill Dan Markell. Now, if you haven't listened to the podcast episode on that yet, I'm going to link it in the show notes. It aired not this last Monday a couple days ago, but the Monday prior. Was it the Monday prior? Yeah, it was the Monday prior.

And that one was a doozy. I mean, I thought I knew all about the Adelson case, but I didn't. Like, as we were researching it, there are, it's such a crazy web. And the title, I think, is like, what did we make the title? It was like, Family Thinks They're the Sopranos, because that's really what it is. It's like all of these family members and in-laws, and by extension, were involved in this, like, very complex murder-for-hire plot. It is insane.

disturbing where then the mother tried to flee the country and she was arrested at the airport. I mean, if you haven't listened to the episode yet, again, I'll link it in the show notes. Definitely go listen because we go over everything. Now, as I said, the case is very complex with a lot of different people and a lot of different details. So

I had mentioned on that episode too, if you guys want me to do a deep dive on certain aspects of the case, definitely let me know, whether it's in the Q&A section on Spotify or the Apple review section if you're listening on Apple. But definitely let me know because even though it was a complex deep dive episode, it could go so much further. I could talk about it forever and ever and ever.

So at his sentencing, Charlie spoke very briefly, and he actually only said 10 words to be exact. And he said, I'm going to quote these 10 words, I would like to say that I maintain my innocence.

That's it. Which, real big fucking shocker, of course you are, but bro, my man, I mean, the evidence piled against you and everyone in your close circle is pretty astonishing, but do you. Keep claiming your innocence. So he's been sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years. And let's talk about his little mommy, Donna, now, because she was also back in court this week. And if you know the story so far, her appearance was honestly just as dramatic as you might have imagined that it would be.

According to her arrest warrant, jail calls from after Charlie's guilty verdict included multiple calls in which Donna is telling Charlie that she's getting her affairs in order, that she's creating trusts, and like trusts, I'm sorry, my jaw's messing me up, but let me spell for you, T-R-U-S-T-S, trusts. So she was getting her affairs in order, creating trusts, and making sure that her grandchildren are taken care of. She

She also had talked about plans for suicide and her plan to flee to a country without an extradition treaty. So as I mentioned, Donna was on her way to Vietnam when she was arrested at Miami International Airport.

Well, Donna's attorney alleged in court documents that she has been subjected to cruel and inhumane conditions since she had been booked at Leon County, which it's now been almost two weeks. In the motion, her attorney asked for Donna to be moved from solitary confinement into the general population.

or asking that she be placed on house arrest. The motion said that Donna has been sitting, quote, naked on a mattress in a solitary cell and not given any eating utensils. Sitting naked, eating with her hands. The motion goes on saying, on November 20th, Donna was put in the infirmary under direct supervision before being moved to a small solitary unit with a toilet, a sink, a mattress on the floor, and a dirty blanket.

She has requested a book or a Bible, but has not been given anything and has been forced to eat her food with her hands. Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

An official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help.

paid for by the u.s department of health and human services so the day after donna's arrival her lawyer said that a mental health official asked her about the medicine that she was taking but she apparently felt uncomfortable because she couldn't see the person's face and wasn't sure that they were in fact a healthcare professional so she didn't feel comfortable disclosing anything

Apparently, when Donna made her concerns known, the official told Donna that Donna is a fancy white lady who murdered her son and now thinks that she has rights. That is a direct quote, my friends. And that official later joked with the other guards about this outside Donna's door. Additionally, Donna says that since that interaction, some jail staff have treated her with cruelty.

including denying her blood pressure medication and preventing her from showering for days at a time. Also saying that Donna has been allowed to call her husband Harvey only once and that she has not been able to call her lawyer.

Her attorney wrote that despite the fact that Donna hasn't been convicted of a crime, jail officials were intentionally punishing her, saying that instead of providing her actual medical care, the jail has shown deliberate indifference to Donna's medical needs and letting her become weaker and weaker as she sits in her cell naked all day with nothing but a mattress on the floor. Her attorney has also said that Donna faced harsh treatment even before she arrived in Leon County,

saying that after she was booked into the Turner Night Correctional Center in Miami, she was placed in an isolation cell in a psychiatric unit. When she was transported from Miami to Tallahassee, she was placed in the back of a vehicle with no water. She tried, but couldn't get the attention apparently of the officers to tell them that she needed water and needed a restroom break.

Approximately four to five hours into the trip, when the officers finally checked on her, Donna was reportedly shaking and dehydrated and unable to stand up or move. As a result, the officers had to call paramedics to a rest stop so that they could give her aid.

In Donna's most recent court hearing, when the state was telling the judge about the phone calls to and with Charlie where she discussed her plans to get her affairs in order, her contemplating suicide, her escape from the U.S., Donna apparently looked like she was just having a cow, having a fit.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat News, Charlie spoke to his mom every day since his trial began, but the calls increased greatly in number and in duration after his conviction, which turned the heat up on his mom and, of course, prompted widespread speculation that she was going to be the next person that was charged in Dan's murder, which, spoiler alert, she was. Now get this, since the start of his trial on October 23rd,

Charlie made a total of 116 phone calls to his mom's phone, totaling more than almost 2,400 minutes, which is like it equates to just over 39 hours, 39 hours of talk time since October 23rd. That's a lot.

90% of the calls were made starting the night of his conviction up to when Donna was finally arrested. Five of those calls were flagged as three-way calls that were detected, which is not allowed during jail phone calls. And the single longest call, which lasted nearly two hours, occurred on November 7th, the day after he was convicted. And get this, the day that Donna was arrested. He

he spent nearly two and a half hours on the phone with her that day fbi agents seized donna's iphone the night that she was arrested however according to court records donna attempted to pull away and prevent the agent from taking her phone and she said that she had been told not to give it to law enforcement so really quickly can someone please explain to me why on earth this family continues to implicate themselves

unrecorded phone calls when most of the case against charlie and now donna stems from the fact that the fbi wiretapped all of their phones i mean

You have to be completely brain dead here. I've said it once and I'll say it again. We love when criminals are this stupid. But man, they have got to be the most ignorant criminals that I've seen in a while. And I'm sure that there's much more on those phone calls that'll come to light later. I also really can't wait to see what's in that Google history on Donna's phone because I can only imagine what she was typing away the day she was thinking she was going to go to Vietnam. I like...

i really can't wait to see all that in the discovery now moving on to donna's hearing i'm not sure if this is the first time that donna heard all of the evidence against her or how much she was able to talk with her attorney beforehand given what was alleged in that motion about how she hasn't been able to talk to anyone and even parts of the hearing her attorney said that she hasn't been able to speak to donna alone so part of me wonders if this was her real reaction hearing that she was busted for the first time

Or if she was putting on, you know, more of like the performance of a lifetime, just like she told Wendy to do during her custody battle with Dan Markell. My ability to share, for example, discovery paperwork, this motion, the motion I filed with Ms. Adelson is non-existent because she's not permitted to have paper.

The level of confinement and also the current restrictions that are in place are these because there were at some point statements alluding to self-harm during the jail phone calls. And at booking here. When she was booked into the jail here, she made a statement that she wanted to die. Now before she was arrested in Miami, she also had a phone call with her son, who's obviously in jail here. 25-minute phone call. I've personally listened to it.

She very clearly spoke about a plan to kill herself using sleeping pills. One moment, Ms. Adelson, please keep your comments to yourself. Let your lawyer argue on your behalf. Spoke of a plan to kill herself if she could not escape the country before arrest. That was known to the folks in this jail when she got here. That's why she's on watch. The mental health professionals see her every day. They are not satisfied that she's safe.

so in the audio it's really hard to hear but donna visibly mouthed oh my god this is crazy and when the state was trying to argue that certain health officials had visited her she was shaking her head and mouthing not once like nobody has checked on her not once

Her facial expressions and her theatrics were honestly truly shocking, but at the same time, not really because it's clear that Donna thinks that she's like gonna get off scot-free from everything and feels entitled. That's why she even felt like she'd get away and go to a country without the extradition treaty. Like, it's just, it blows my mind, the audacity here. So if you want to see some of the clips, I'm going to put the links to the podcast Instagram.

in the show notes for you to check out because we have some reels on there where it's actually the court footage with her facial expressions. It's truly unbelievable. You can also follow that on Instagram. It's Serialistlypod, but I'll put the link in the show notes for you too.

Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

Go to ssa.gov slash extra help.

Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. So, speaking of audacity and people who really think that they are entitled to live differently than the rest of the world, I want to talk about Todd Chrisley for a minute. And I had mentioned him briefly recently because there was an update in his case, and, like, I didn't want to bring him up again, but, of course, right when I think I'm done with these people, they do something stupid. They pull some stupid fucking thing, and I'm talking about him again. So...

And Brian Enten recently had a phone interview through Todd Chrisley's attorney while he's in prison. I'm going to link the full thing in the description, so definitely check it out. But I wanted to talk about it because just a few weeks ago, we had talked about the inhumane prison conditions that Todd had been describing from prison and how the prison was punishing him even more because he was speaking up and calling them out on these conditions.

It's also interesting because his attorney went over what exactly they are doing for the appeal process for the Chrisleys, and they even revealed that the whole investigation may have been may have targeted at them personally long before they were charged. It's actually pretty crazy. So here's a few small clips. I want you to take a listen and tell me what you think.

This was all through his attorney. We were able to ask questions and then his attorney was able to ask those questions of Todd. So that's sort of the way this went down.

I just want to make that clear because a lot of people are saying, oh, you got this interview with Todd Chrisley behind bars. It wasn't exactly like that. Yes, but it wasn't through Todd. This was all through his attorney. And he made some pretty wild accusations about the prison. I want to play this first clip from Todd Chrisley. Do you feel like you're being treated fairly by the guards and the prison staff? No.

Wow.

What about the food, Todd? I mean, Savannah has talked about the food. Can you, you know, is it unsafe? It is so disgustingly filthy. The food is literally, I'm not exaggerating, dated at minimum a year. It's a year past expiration. And they are literally starving these men to death. These men are getting, I don't know that they're getting $1,000.

So what are you eating if you're not eating the food? The only food that I eat is what I'm eating. One of the warden's ways of kind of, I've been told, one of the ways she's like me is by cutting down what you can buy in commissary. So before she came here, you could buy 12 packs of tuna a week. She cut it down to six, and it went from six to three. She has not given a reason. She says, when I ask her about it, she says commissary is a privilege on a rocket ship.

So do you only eat tuna? My gosh.

So they're not letting you in here because it's a breach of security or whatever. They don't want you in here where you can see what's really going on. Are you ever concerned that maybe you should, I mean, stay quiet because you're trying to help other people by speaking out, but it sounds like you talking about what's going on there could end up making your situation worse. I know that God has a greater purpose. I know he's got a greater plan.

and i'm not going to let the federal government break my faith i'm not they wanted to destroy our family tommy krepp the prosecutors made it if we were the southern version of the trump i'm not going to have someone like him break my family and that's what he wanted to do but he's not been able to do that our criminal justice system i believe has let them down

I believe that they're going to have a chance now before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and I think we're going to be able to argue that effectively and correct an injustice that shouldn't have existed to begin with. Is it true that one of the investigators had Todd Chrisley's head on a dartboard?

you know, sad but true. I heard the same thing that the Chrisleys were targeted and that there was an agent from the Georgia Department of Revenue that actually had them, Todd's picture, like it was a target and he was aiming at it.

This week, there's also been a new trial for a guy named Bryce Rhodes. So this new trial has began for a man who was charged with triple murder in Kentucky. It just started this week. And apparently, we might have another Daryl Brooks slash Taylor Shabizness kind of hybrid on our hands, this given his previous court outbursts.

During court appearances, Bryce Rhodes, who's the defendant and also, let me just say, a self-proclaimed rapper, has threatened two judges. He spit on an inmate. He beat up an inmate. He threatened to kill an inmate. He spit on an attorney. He's thrown cleaning supplies. He's thrown urine on officers. He's threatened to kill an officer. He's tried to escape jail. He allegedly tried to dig a hole in his cell with some sort of

sharpened metal instrument. He also apparently flushed the tool down the toilet before officers could confiscate it. That was the allegation. He was hit with felony charges of mischief, escape, and tampering with evidence.

And for allegedly threatening an officer in jail that he and his family would die and that he would be shanked in the face, Rhodes was charged with terroristic threatening, wanton endangerment, and criminal mischief. And made just outlandish claims about a different attorney being a racist, the judge being racist, and that the same judge and the prosecutor were apparently having sex. I mean, all these wild claims, okay? Mr. Rhodes, you're smiling. I don't know why you're smiling. Because I can't. Well,

Well, because I can't. It's not a crime to smell. It's not a crime to continue what you were saying, but it doesn't help you. All right. To irritate people. All right. And you have a lot at stake in this case. It's not a crime to smell, is it? I didn't say you were committing a crime. I'm saying you're not helping yourself. Continue what you were saying. I'm not a smell. I would suggest you do what helps you, not what hurts you. Okay. That's what I want to do.

Now, the spitting incident happened after his first attorney had to withdraw from the case when he discovered that he was friends with someone who knew the victims. This attorney actually clapped back at Bryce in court, too, for spitting at him, and Bryce threatened him that he would be out one day and could find him. Listen.

Nice cheap shot. You're a coward. Nice cheap shot. You're a coward. I'll see you when I get out. McLeod says he isn't afraid of the threat. After this incident, he was forced to wear a spit mask. And the next time that he was in court, he was wheeled in and strapped in along with wearing that spit mask so that he couldn't do this.

Bryce tried to talk over the judge the entire time and kept asking why he had to have the mask on. So the judge responded by telling him, you know why. And then Bryce told her to shut the fuck up. And he told her that multiple times, saying he doesn't give a fuck and that he can find out where she lives and that he knows that she has a family. Mr. Rhodes, you can just bring him up right here. Why do y'all have me come out like this for? I think you know why. Why?

You know exactly why. Now, listen. Stop talking. You have been... Are you done? No, I ain't done. You've been charged with assault in the fourth degree. I'm going to keep talking because I don't want to have to see you back here for this. What you think a motherfucker can't find out where you live at? What you think that? Bitch, I don't give a fuck about none of that. I ain't do shit.

So you're saying you're going to find out where I live at? I don't give a fuck about none of that. You got to tell me, I'll be up. Okay. You've been charged with assault in the fourth degree, minor injury, terroristic threatening in the third degree, and harassment with physical contact. These are new charges. I'm entering a plea of not guilty on your behalf. Would you like me to read the arrest warrant to you? No, I'm not guilty. I am setting a bond of $15,000 full cash on those charges.

Do you have any questions? Would you like an appointment of a public defender? I just said that. I just said that. Okay. I just said that. And would you like an attorney? I'm not taking you anywhere. They can take you back, but would you like an attorney? Okay. Ms. Schroering, that was a threat against the court. I think that the, I'm asking the county attorney's office to take that into account and consider what to do with that.

Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

An official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help.

paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. So after threatening the first judge, he was switched to another judge, where he threatened to report him to the Bar Association and the ACLU, claiming that his attorney was a racist and that the police were setting him up, and that the judge was having sex with the prosecutor. Your job is to do your job, not to worry about me. That's what I'm saying. I worry about me. You worry about yourself. You're not trying to give me a first chance in fact with counsel.

Well, who do you think I should give you as your lawyer? I'll write the Bar Association and the ACLU. You're going to find out, though. You're going to find out real quick. I promise that. And it's my right to speak what I need to speak on. I don't know if y'all got some type of sexual relationship going on or what y'all got going on, but I'm definitely going to speak my mind. Now I'm talking about you and a prosecutor over here, sir.

You denied all my motions. Every motion I filed, you didn't deny it. I'm pretty sure I've denied the best. Every motion I filed. Are you some type of racist? Or you got some type of sex relationship going on? Which one is it? Or are you just wrong in everything that you say? Are you a secret Ku Klux Klan member? No, sir. Is that what you really are? No. Okay. I'm not. But like I said, the higher courts, they'll deal with it.

so now that this guy's trial is starting he is in court and he is wearing something called stun cuffs which are pretty much exactly how they sound it's handcuffs that will shock you if you act out in court think of it almost like

You know how people train dogs with a collar where it's like if they act up or they bark or they go where they're not supposed to, it like shocks them? That's what this is, like handcuffs that will shock you. So as soon as I heard all of this information and how crazy this guy was, I knew that I definitely needed to look into this further.

So during opening statements of this triple murder trial, prosecutors said that Bryce brutally killed two teenage brothers, Larry and Maurice. This was after they witnessed Bryce murder another person named Christopher Jones. The story is wild and pretty horrific. Guys, take a listen. The idea was this. They all honked in the car on May the 4th, and Maurice was driving the car.

Front passenger seat was Larry. Bryce Rhodes was in the back behind the driver's seat. So it's nighttime, and they're driving around looking for this guy, looking to collect the price on his head. As they approach, what happened was a man was walking out in the street, and he had long braids. So he looked like the guy that Bryce Rhodes believed the hit was on.

So Bryce Rhodes rolled down his window. Bryce Rhodes yells out the window to him, hey, get out the road, bitch, and then shoots him. Bryce Rhodes became aware that they were talking about the murder, but their family knew about it. And as soon as Mr. Rhodes knew that the boys were talking, even just to their family, he knew that they had to do something about these boys to keep them from talking, to cover up his first murder.

And so Bryce Rhodes said it was time to discipline Maurice. Maurice had pulled out a knife on somebody, and so Bryce hit him upside the head pretty hard and took him out. Ben said, it's time for you to be disciplined. So he went up to Maurice, put a toboggan on his head, and pulled it down over his eyes so he couldn't see. And he tied his arms behind his back so that he couldn't move.

And he made him beg for forgiveness and plead for his life, which he did. He was begging everyone in that room to spare him and apologizing and saying he was sorry. Larry, his brother, was taken and held in a different room. And from Larry's room, he could hear his brother pleading for his life. He could hear what happened to his brother. And what happened to his brother is that he was punched a few times, uh,

by Mr. Taylor. And then Bryce Rhodes took a knife and began stabbing him over and over and over again in the chest, in the midsection, and in the genitals. He was screaming and crying out for help, and his brother was helpless, a room away to do anything about it. When they were finally done, they rolled Maurice over, and then they brought Larry into the room, and then they repeated the process.

So let me know in the reviews or the comments if this trial is something you'd like me to follow more closely, either on a bonus episode, a full episode, honestly, whatever you guys want, because you know I want to cater this to you and what you're looking for. Now, I'm not going to be doing a lot of

Let's talk too quickly. We haven't talked about Athena Brownfield yet in Oklahoma, but we covered her case a while back pretty extensively. But this week, charges were amended and more information was released in the case against Ivan and Alicia Adams. This was the case for the murder of their four-year-old niece, Athena Brownfield, in Oklahoma.

As I said, I covered this case on my YouTube channel earlier this year after Athena was discovered to be missing this past January, and then shortly after, her remains were found and her caretakers, which were her aunt and uncle, were arrested.

If you aren't familiar with the case, Athena's older sister, five-year-old Adina, was found walking alone outside by the mailman. She had been home alone and told him that she was hungry and looking for her sister, Athena. So this led to a massive search, and eventually Ivan was arrested for first-degree murder and also for child neglect. He was arrested in Arizona and then transferred back to Oklahoma.

Now, Elysia was charged with two counts of child neglect, one count for failing to supervise Adena and the other for not protecting Athena from Ivan, who she said beat Athena to death and that that happened on Christmas.

But there was a complete 180 here because on Tuesday, the DA said that Athena was never physically assaulted. So after being found in a zipped up black backpack inside a shallow grave, an autopsy was of course performed. And the autopsy showed no evidence of physical abuse. Instead, it showed that she died from malnutrition that was complicated by COVID and another few viruses.

Her body was only 23 pounds during her autopsy, so this Tuesday, charges for the couple were amended. Alicia's neglect charges were amended to one count of first-degree murder, one count of felony child neglect, and she was also charged with obstructing an officer after she lied during the initial investigation, saying that Ivan beat Athena in what my guess is an attempt to save her own sorry ass.

Ivan's charges were also amended: his to second-degree murder, unlawful removal of a dead body, and one count of child neglect, and this all for leaving Adina alone in Oklahoma while he went and gallimanted in Arizona with he and Alicia's kids and just left Adina behind. During court, the prosecution claimed that Alicia willfully tortured Athena by putting her in a closet and depriving her of proper nutrition and water.

And this case was crazy, guys. I'll link the full episode in the show notes, too, because this is her aunt and uncle who are being charged here.

They had, like, volunteered to be the caretakers in this situation, and they had other children who they did take care of, and it was just very bizarre the way that all of this unfolded. It was another really disturbing case, so I'm not going to go too long-winded into it because it's very triggering for many people, but I will link it in the show notes for you. Okay.

Um, so that's what we have in terms of updates this week with crime. Again, I know I took it extra slow today, so I apologize if you guys are like, okay, move it along, Annie, talk a little faster, because I know I usually talk like normal speed is a two times speed for people, but I'm trying to just rest this jaw so that it'll recover.

Anyways, we have a brand new episode of Dark Chapters releasing Thursday night, 5 p.m. Pacific. We are moving it from Friday to Thursday just to give everybody more flexibility to watch given the holiday season and having plans on the weekends and things like that. So if you haven't checked out the Dark Chapters series yet, it's over on my YouTube. I highly, highly recommend it. So we have a new episode of that coming out and...

I'm in my new space finally. I hope to do a behind-the-scenes video of that, give you guys a tour. I'll put that over on Patreon if you're interested. But excited to be in the new space, new sets. You'll see all of those two on YouTube come the new year and some good exciting things happen. Also, possibly going to be doing some live touring in the upcoming year. A lot of good things to come. But right now, I have to go pop a muscle relaxer for my jaw because...

This was 34 minutes and seven seconds at this point, and it's hurting my jaw. So sorry, now I'm coughing. All right, guys, I hope you have a great rest of your day. Thanks for listening. I will be talking with you Friday morning in an all new ad free bonus episode. And of course, again, Monday with our normal Monday deep dives. All right. Talk to you guys soon. And thanks again. An official message from Medicare.

A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better, even when it's impossible to take time for them. Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on. And before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow. Sound familiar?

But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself, when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them? BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started. With affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere, and the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up.

Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com.

This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better, even when it's impossible to make time for them. Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow.

Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere, and the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com. PenFed Free Checking offers zero fees and zero balance requirements for zero hassle.

PenFed Access America checking lets you earn money on your balance for dreams big and small. Choose the best account for you and start making the most of your money. Learn more at PenFed.org. Federally insured by NCOA. To receive any advertised product, you must become a member of PenFed Credit Union. PenFed's got great rates for everyone.