94: 8 Year-Old Girl Wakes Up With Stranger After Being Kidnapped From Her Bed
42:20 Share

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. You ever heard of the name Jennifer Shewitt? Yes. Do you ever have occasion to come in contact with her?

Yes. Tell me about that. No. Hey, true crime besties. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialistly. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialistly with me, Annie Elise. I hope you are all having a good day and ready to hear a new true crime case because I am ready to talk with you about it. No, when I first had heard about this case and done some research, I was like,

kind of just taken aback because it was, I don't know, there's certain things along the way and you'll understand as I get into it that weren't really making sense to me that kind of like made me pause. But it's one that's really upsetting and it actually has kind of stuck with me ever since first hearing about it. So I'm looking forward to sharing it with you and getting your thoughts and opinions and just kind of talking through it with you. Before we jump into it, I did want to make a quick announcement that if you have not seen the announcement yet, we have officially dropped season two merch. We

We have called it the Make It Make Sense Collection, which I feel like is kind of fitting because I always say that. That and the Math Ain't Mathin', which both of those items are within the collection. We also have some holiday giftables, some like...

Stanley type cups some candles apparel, of course all the things So you can head over to shop tend to life.com and pick up yours I want to apologize in advance if we are sold out of anything because we did order very limited quantity this go-around So make sure you snag what you want quick And if you did miss out on what you did want then just make sure to sign up for the season three drop So that you get notified so you don't miss out on that one

So I want to start this case by kind of just saying I feel like we can all agree that having a fear of the dark, being scared of the dark, being scared of sleeping alone, especially when you're young, is pretty common. It's typical for most young kids. I know for me, I was very scared of sleeping in the dark and just I would feel like I would see things, hear things, you know, all of that. Well, this was no different for eight-year-old Jennifer Schuett.

She always had a lot of trouble falling asleep on her own. So oftentimes, more times than not actually, she would sleep with her mom as a sense of security, an extra sense of comfort. However, on one summer night in August of 1990, her mom had asked Jennifer if she could sleep on her own that night. She wanted to get a good night's sleep and be ready for early work the next morning. So Jennifer said, sure, no problem, that's fine. And this seemed like a simple enough request, right?

However, the next morning when Jennifer's mom went into her room, Jennifer was not in her bed and her window was open. Now, the story of what happened to Jennifer Schuett is not only heartbreaking, but it is downright terrifying. But I do want to let you know, you are going to want to stick around until the end of this case. Jennifer Schuett was eight years old. Am I scaring you, little girl? Am I scaring you? It was the break in the cold case police in Dickinson, Texas, needed.

How did he target her? Just by chance? That we don't know.

In August of 1990, Jennifer Shuet was your typical eight-year-old little girl. She had dark hair, she had little waves with tiny little bangs, she also had a missing tooth in her smile, which kind of just went along perfectly with her silly little personality. But her biggest and most noticeable feature were her big, round, blue eyes. They were so bright and were just so, so beautiful. Jennifer and her mother, Elaine, lived in Dixon, Texas, and they lived in an apartment complex called the Yorktown Apartments.

They lived in Unit 49, which happened to be on the ground level. Now, ever since Jennifer was born, it was always just her and her mom, Elaine. Elaine had been a single mother ever since Jennifer was born and always worked really hard to provide a stable and happy, comfortable life for her. Now, the Yorktown apartments where they lived was not in the best area of Dixon.

However, it was really close to the elementary school that Jennifer attended, and she had just actually graduated from the second grade. She was now out on summer break, and although she loved school, loved it so, so much, she was really looking forward to having that summer break and spending time with her mom and some of her friends. Now, that night in August, it was a particularly hot summer night.

Jennifer couldn't seem to get comfortable and couldn't seem to sit still while she was sleeping. She was constantly kicking her legs out of the sheets, moving around, and this resulted in her waking her mom up every few minutes. So her mother Elaine finally asked her, "'Hey, Jennifer, is it okay if you sleep on your own in your bedroom just for tonight? Because I have to be up really early for work, and it's important that I get some rest.'"

So Jennifer said, yes, of course, sure, that's not a problem. So she went into her bedroom, turned on a lamp, which happened to be a lamp in the shape of a huge light bulb, and it just lit up the entire room so there was no darkness anywhere, and she was trying to settle back in to go to sleep. She had a hard time falling back asleep, though, so at first she pulled some money out of her piggy bank, started counting it, and then she grabbed a few books to just start flipping through the pages, hoping to make herself tired.

Well, at some point, as she was reading through those books, she ended up falling asleep. A few hours later, she woke up, and she was in one of those kind of moments where you're slowly waking up out of a dream, you're not sure if you're still in the dream, you're not sure if it's reality. And when she was waking up and experiencing this, she noticed that somebody's arms were wrapped around her. And when she opened her eyes, she noticed that it was a man, and that he was actually running with her outside on the sidewalk away from the apartments.

Now, Jennifer still wasn't sure if what she was experiencing was real. But when she tried to scream, the man put his hand over her mouth. Now, just as she was about to panic, he whispered to her not to worry and that he was a police officer.

So Jennifer was completely confused by this. She was confused about how she was asleep one minute, then awake the next, being with this police officer outside of her apartment complex and just running. It wasn't making any sense to her. However, she also knew that she had been taught that police officers are there to help. They're there to keep you safe. So she didn't feel like she was in danger in that moment. And she even started to calm down a little bit. We're going to take a quick break today from the case and hear from our sponsors.

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 extrahelp.

Life is full of adventures.

Do you take this man to be your husband? I do. Welcome home. We did it. He has your eyes. He's perfect. Make the most of them all with PenFed checking and savings accounts. Learn more at PenFed.org. Federally insured by NCUA. To receive any advertised product, you must become a member of PenFed Credit Union. PenFed's got great rates for everyone.

Still in a daze, Jennifer wasn't really sure how far the man had ran with her, but it was only moments later that he was pulling her inside a car. Now, even though he had said he was an officer, Jennifer unsurprisingly felt very uneasy about the entire situation.

especially because instead of putting her in the back seat or the passenger seat, the man sat Jennifer down on his lap so that she was boxed in on his lap in the driver's seat with his arms around her and then holding the steering wheel. And then every time as they were driving, they would pass by other cars, he would push her head down so that it was out of sight.

So even at just eight years old, Jennifer knew that this wasn't something that a police officer would do. While they drove, the man told Jennifer to calm down and that everything was going to be okay. He told her that he was undercover, which did make sense to her as to why he wasn't in a police uniform. It wasn't before long that the man pulled the car into a parking lot, which happened to be a place that Jennifer was very familiar with.

It actually was her elementary school. Now, when they parked, Jennifer noticed that this man seemed very frazzled, also very greasy and just kind of grimy and gross and dirty. Nothing like you would normally expect a police officer to look like, undercover or not. So with this, she started to feel more nervous. He could obviously tell because to reassure her that everything was okay, he said that by the time the sun came up, her mom would be coming to get her.

But still, nothing made any sense. He told Jennifer to just look at the moon, look at the moon and just try to calm down, and also asked her if she wanted some candy, which, could you get more cliche than that? A creepy stranger asking a little girl if she wants some candy, like, give me a break. But I guess it's cliche for a reason, because something about that question triggered something in Jennifer. She remembered countless lessons at school about never taking candy from strangers, and

So she told him no thanks and decided to start taking mental notes of anything that she could inside the car, just in case something bad were to happen. Now for an 8-year-old to be in such a high-stress situation and to think about analyzing her surroundings just shows that Jennifer was incredibly smart.

So as they're in this parking lot, this greasy, grimy man starts drinking beers and also smoking cigarettes. Again, a telltale sign of something that normally a police officer, even undercover, would not do. So Jennifer knew that this wasn't something that a person trying to help her would be doing, and it's pretty strange that he didn't even give her a reason for needing to take her in the first place. She had just seen her mom in the other room, and everything was fine, which just made this whole situation even more confusing for her.

Jennifer was completely out of control in this entire situation, but the one thing that she could control was her mind and trying to remember any details that she could.

She noticed the type of beer he was drinking. She noticed the logo on his cigarettes. She noticed the smell and what was going on in the car. She noticed the color and the design of his shirt as well. She noticed the hair placement on his face. I mean, anything that she could notice and take a mental note of, she was doing. Jennifer and the man sat in this hot car for what felt like forever, but it was still dark outside.

Instead of actually waiting for the sun to come up, the man ended up saying, well, your mom's not coming, then turned the car on and started to drive away. So it was really at that point that Jennifer knew something dangerous was going on and this was probably going to end very badly. But despite all of that, at just eight years old, she tried to remain as calm as possible. They only drove a few blocks away before the man pulled his car onto a gravel road. He then drove until there was a dead end.

Again, they just sat there and it looked like the man was thinking. But Jennifer decided that she wanted to ask some more questions. So she asked him why he didn't have a badge or a gun. And he told her that his gun was so big that he kept it in the back seat. So Jennifer said that she wanted to see for herself. So she stood up on the passenger seat, turned to the back seat, and then looked over and peered into the back seat to see what she could find. And that is when everything changed.

All of a sudden, the man pulled out a pocket knife and held it to Jennifer's throat. It was like all the waiting around and all of the buildup was really just to psych himself up. And then at that moment, he couldn't resist. He couldn't hold back anymore, and he was ready to execute his plan. Then, in the most cold and evil voice, the man said to Jennifer, "'Am I scaring you, little girl?'

Now, Jennifer, being shocked and unable to even reply, showed that he most definitely was scaring her, but it seemed like that's what he wanted. Jennifer was only around 45 pounds, and there was nothing that she could have done to fight off this deranged, disgusting man.

I mean, he was much older. She was eight years old, 45 pounds. There's not much that she can do in a situation like that, except again, analyze things and try to remember anything that she could. So before blacking out, the last thing that she remembered was the man putting his hands around her throat and then squeezing as hard as he could. She did come to briefly and the man then tried to break Jennifer's neck. When that didn't work, she again passed out from him using his hands to choke her.

And honestly, it's for the better that Jennifer blacked out because while she was unconscious, he proceeded to sexually violate her. This sick bastard put himself on top of this eight-year-old little girl while she was unconscious and took advantage of her. Just absolute pure filth.

The next time that Jennifer started to wake up, it was because she could now feel sharp sticks, gravel, rocks, and dirt raking across her back as this man was now pulling her across a dirt field.

As this man was now pulling her by the ankles across a dirt field while she was completely naked. I'm not even sure how she was able to form any coherent thoughts after what was done to her, but Jennifer had this instinctual feeling that to get the man to leave, she needed to play dead.

She kept her eyes closed and did her best not to make any noises or deep breaths, and moments later, she felt the man drop her feet to the ground. There were no last words, and thankfully, there was no checking on her pulse either. He thought that she was in fact dead. He didn't take any extra precautions to check if she was in fact still alive, which she was. Instead, he just turned around and started to walk away.

A few seconds later, Jennifer could hear the slamming of his car door and the sound of him driving off. When she knew that he was definitely gone, Jennifer tried to scream for help, hoping that someone would hear and come and save her.

However, for some reason, when she tried screaming or making any noise at all, no sound was coming out of her mouth. And the harder she tried to scream and talk, the more this weird sensation started to come across her throat. So as she went to go start feeling her throat to see what was going on, she was surprised when she felt that it was wet. And when she pulled her hands away, they were completely covered in blood.

While she was unconscious, that disgusting pig used that same pocket knife to cut Jennifer's throat from ear to ear. The cut was so deep that it severed her vocal cords, making it so that she couldn't produce any sound no matter how hard she tried to scream. As Jennifer laid there in the grass, the sun slowly started to come up. She could actually hear and see cars going by on the road not far from her, but there was nothing that she could do to get any of their attention.

So she again started going in and out of consciousness, probably due to the blood loss and being choked and honestly just a combination of everything else that that man had done to her. But despite all of this, something kept forcing her to be awake. So when this man had dropped her just so carelessly and dumped her in this field,

it wasn't noticed that he had dumped her head right on top of a fire ant hill. As hundreds of these tiny ants started pouring out of their now disturbed mound, they started biting Jennifer, and the searing pain was jolting her awake every single time she started fading out.

Now, if you have ever accidentally stepped on a fire ant mound or hill, you will know that it is incredibly painful. They don't stop biting. They are just relentless. And it is so, so, so painful. So this kept keeping her awake, but also could be looked at, of course, as a blessing in disguise.

Now, even after you get the ants off of you, the bites will welt up and burn and itch, sometimes for hours. So now, imagine this eight-year-old girl. She was just sexually assaulted. Her throat has been sliced ear to ear so deep that her vocal cords are severed. She's been thrown into a field naked.

And this man just left her for dead, thinking that she was in fact dead. And now all of these fire ants are biting her all over her head, relentlessly, as she's fading in and out of consciousness. It is gruesome and a horrible thought to have in your mind. And for Jennifer, the longer that she just laid there, unable to scream for help, unable to get anybody's attention, the more that she was starting to come to terms with the fact that she thought she was going to die.

Jennifer laid in that field for hours, and it was thankfully a very dreary day so the sun wasn't beating down on her, which at least that is a blessing in this. It had started to drizzle rain outside, which also provided some relief to her for her ant bites and to that wound that was on her neck. In the distance, Jennifer could hear the sound of children playing, and honestly, it was agonizing for her knowing that there were people so close by, but how they would have no way of seeing her or knowing that she needed help.

However, meanwhile, back at the Yorktown apartments, there were actually tons of people there that knew she needed help. And her mother, Elaine, was absolutely frantic.

When she woke up early for work that morning, Elaine had gone in to check on Jennifer, and she found that her window was wide open and Jennifer was not in her bed. Sometime early Friday morning, eight-year-old Jennifer Schuett was abducted from her apartment bedroom. Jennifer's mother entered the bedroom and found the bedroom window open and her daughter gone. When Jennifer, Jennifer, there was no sign of her any, you know, she was just...

Gone. The fact that Jennifer's bedroom window faced out toward the road made her even more worried that somebody had taken her. She knew Jennifer would never run away, especially not in the dark. So Elaine called 911. And even though the Dixon Police Department was small, they quickly put together a search party of police, the fire department, and volunteers who were all willing to help look for Jennifer in the surrounding area.

That morning, the local news stations also ran the story that Jennifer was believed to have been abducted out of her bedroom window. And this absolutely struck so much fear in the community, especially for families who had young children. As the sun started to go down again, Jennifer had been laying in that field for nearly 14 hours, hopelessly clinging to life. At that point, Jennifer was surprised that she even was still alive, but she didn't feel like she was going to be able to make it much longer.

That was until she felt something hitting her foot, and suddenly she was face-to-face with another child, who absolutely certainly must have been terrified seeing her. Jennifer didn't know if she was dreaming in this moment, but she did pass out again. The child had been playing tag nearby with a group of friends, so they ran to get help from the people who were already searching for Jennifer nearby. The next time Jennifer woke up, she saw an actual police officer in a uniform who was kneeling down beside her.

The officer told her that she was going to be okay and asked her to please just stay with him. Now given the state that she was in, this officer didn't know that if she had passed out again, would she wake back up? So first responders arrived, and that's when they got her on a gurney before a helicopter arrived to life flight her to the hospital. Jennifer's mom was notified that she was found alive, but in critical condition. Elaine and also Jennifer's grandparents rushed to the hospital, but they weren't able to see her right away.

She had to be rushed into emergency surgery to repair her airway, but the doctors were almost certain that Jennifer would never be able to speak again.

After the surgery was completed, Jennifer was alert and clearly afraid of the male doctors and the male police officers. Because if you remember, the man who did this to her said that he was a police officer. So she didn't know who to trust. She didn't know what was real, who was involved, if maybe he was going to be there at the hospital. She didn't feel like there was anyone besides her family that she could trust.

All of the doctors agreed that it was an absolute miracle that Jennifer had survived. And even though the ants had caused her so much pain, they also played a pivotal role in keeping her alive.

The venom from so many ants biting around her head and neck wound actually caused the blood to start coagulating, making it so that Jennifer did not bleed out. The burning and the biting also kept her alert so that she didn't just slip into a sleep and never wake up. After Jennifer was found in that field, investigators located a t-shirt and male underwear. Searchers also found Jennifer's clothing.

Even though DNA testing was getting more advanced in the 90s, though, there still needed to be a relatively large amount of DNA to analyze compared to how much is needed today. The detectives on the case saved the clothing, but they needed to try to talk to Jennifer, who was their only witness.

The only problem was that Jennifer couldn't speak at all, and she was also on so much pain medication, she was scared, she was traumatized, this was not going to be an easy thing to do. However, Jennifer wanted to help find whoever did this to her, and she wanted to tell them everything that she remembered seeing in that car. So while detectives waited outside of her room, Elaine helped her answer questions and give those details by writing them on paper.

and they were actually blown away with how specific Jennifer was able to be. She informed them about his blue-colored car, that he had been drinking Bud Light, that he was smoking Marlboro cigarettes. She told them everything, and in something that nobody would ever assume would happen,

She even told them how the man told her that his name was Dennis. Without being able to say a word, Jennifer worked with a sketch artist to try and give an idea of what this perpetrator Dennis looked like.

The artist brought in books with pictures of hairstyles, eyes, eyebrows, noses, and Jennifer would choose the features that she remembered of her disgusting attacker. Now for someone who had been through so much, over the next couple of days and weeks, she really showed how resilient children can be, even after going through such a horrific event. Jennifer's back was still injured from being dragged on the ground, and her throat was still healing from surgery.

Her eyes were bloodshot from the vessels bursting when that man tried to strangle her, but she was still resilient, helping police, helping find her attacker, and overcoming the horrific experience that she had gone through. During Jennifer's recovery, the doctors were blown away when her vocal cords actually started to heal themselves. They were certain that she would never be able to speak again, but what started out as just a little peep gradually turned into Jennifer regaining her voice.

She had already beaten two of the odds against her, surviving and now talking. And then with a sketch that she felt sure looked just like her attacker, she believed that they would be able to find him quickly. However, that unfortunately did not end up being the case.

When Jennifer recovered physically, she returned to school, and her mother Elaine tried to help her get back some sense of normalcy. The entire town was still on edge at the thought of a kidnapper, though, being out on the loose. Everybody was locking their doors. They were scared for their children. Nobody knew who this attacker could have been. And then, as the investigation slowed, things started to kind of come to a standstill. Progress started to slow, and the case was growing cold.

A year passed, and then five, and then ten. And the person who did this to Jennifer still had not been identified. All right, guys, we are going to take one final break in today's case to hear from the last sponsors of today's episode.

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.

Would you believe us if we told you our podcast is haunted? We didn't intend for this to happen. No, we did not. But apparently spirits like listening to ghost stories too. We bring you the creepiest, most unusual, and sometimes heartwarming encounters with the paranormal. Stories so chilling and so shocking that even the spirits can't help but hop on our mics and give us an occasional EVP. But we aren't the only haunted ones. Listeners of this podcast report increased levels of paranormal activity.

Our podcast brings all the ghosts to the yard, and hopefully it brings you too. Tune in to Two Girls, One Ghost wherever you listen to podcasts. It's the most haunted podcast in America. Very spooky.

Jennifer went on to graduate from high school. She started a career and eventually fell in love with a man named Jonathan Martinez. But Jennifer never gave up hope that one day her kidnapper would be brought to justice. But now at this point, after so many years, it felt like everyone had started to move on from the case, that it was deemed a cold case. Nobody was really looking into it anymore. There weren't any solid tips, no new leads. That was until Jennifer got a phone call from a very specific detective.

Tim Cromey called Jennifer in January of 2008, and he informed her that he was going to be taking over the investigation. Jennifer's case was chosen to be re-evaluated by Houston FBI Special Agent Richard Renneson and also Dickinson Police Detective Tim Cromey. A new program in the FBI had been launched to identify child abduction cases that had gone cold and could potentially be retested for DNA evidence. At

Out of all of the cold cases, Jennifer's had stood out to Agent Renneson. He noted that even though she had suffered extremely horrific injuries, she had somehow managed to survive it.

And that was extremely rare. In their line of work, it was uncommon for abducted children to be recovered alive. Jennifer's case was selected for further investigation and retesting for DNA evidence. And Tim Cromey told her that he would do everything in his power to find the answers that she needed, even if it took the rest of his career. It had been years since someone else seemed as passionate as Jennifer in solving her case. But she felt like Tim Cromey and Richard Renneson wanted to help her get justice.

So the two investigators started by revisiting the evidence room where items from Jennifer's case had been stored away.

Over the years, there had been advancements in DNA testing, and even though there hadn't been enough in 1990, there was a good possibility that some DNA could be pulled off of the clothing found near the scene. But being an 18-year-old case, they were worried, but they knew that the lab had more pertinent testing to complete that would be given priority. So it took nearly a year for anything to come back, marking 19 years since the attack.

But then shockingly, the lab was able to find a match between DNA on the clothing and DNA from a man that had been entered into CODIS.

Now, for those who are unfamiliar, CODIS is a national database, and people's information and DNA are entered in there if they are a previous offender. Sometimes they get in the system and database for other reasons, but it is what they'll use as a tool to compare with other DNA and, you know, things in crime scenes. So the fact that they now had this match was a huge step forward in the investigation, but the agents were in complete disbelief when they told them the name of whose DNA had matched.

If you remember, years ago in the hospital, while badly injured and medicated, Jennifer had told the officers that her attacker said his name was Dennis. And all along, she had been completely right. The DNA came back belonging to a man named Dennis Earl Bradford. It

It was pretty confusing because this man has never shown up on anyone's radar at any point during the investigation. But when they pulled up a photo of the man's ID photo, they were again shocked to see that it was practically a perfect match to the sketch that Jennifer had provided from her recollection. It was as if the artist had been looking at his photo while completing her drawing. So this was a huge break, and the two agents were about to find out why Dennis was in that system to begin with.

And with that, they also found that Jennifer was unfortunately not his only victim. Dennis Earl Bradford was born on September 28th, 1969. And in 1990, when the attack on Jennifer occurred, he would have been 20 years old. Now, I wasn't able to really find any information on Dennis's early life, but by all accounts, he seemed like a normal, nice guy.

Neighbors who were close to Dennis said that he was the kind of person to help you with anything at any time of day. So my question is, how does someone like this kidnap and viciously assault an 8-year-old little girl? Just a year after Dennis thought he killed Jennifer, he actually moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, and he met a woman at a bar named Lisa. After only six months of dating, Dennis and Lisa got married, and they went on to have a son and a daughter together.

Now, according to Lisa, Dennis had been a loving husband, loving father. Picture-perfect marriage, right? But apparently he struggled with maintaining a job and sort of took on the role of stay-at-home husband or, in his words, Mr. Mom.

Now that might have been a decent situation, but Lisa started noticing that Dennis started exhibiting some bizarre behaviors, and it suddenly seemed like all he cared about doing was drinking. Which maybe now Dennis was finally grappling with the guilt of killing a child now that he had two children of his own. Who knows, or maybe he was struggling fighting the urge to kill again. Regardless, his binge drinking ultimately led to Lisa filing for divorce. By

By 1996, Dennis had again started spending more and more time at the local bars and hot springs, and it was there that he met another woman, similar to the way that he had met Lisa just years before. Dennis offered to buy the woman a drink, and they would go on to talk and play pool together for the rest of the night.

At last call, Dennis offered to give her a ride home, and this woman accepted. However, instead of taking her home, Dennis drove her to a secluded area, sexually assaulted her at knife point, and attempted to slit her throat. Like Jennifer, though, this woman miraculously survived the attack.

So Dennis was arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder. However, his charges were later reduced, but apparently since the woman had accepted his drink at the bar and had gotten into his car willingly, they just couldn't know for sure if Dennis did in fact sexually assault her.

I guess the fact that her throat was slit wasn't obvious enough, I don't know, but ultimately he was only convicted on a charge of kidnapping, and in 1997 he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. However, Dennis was released in February of 2000, after only three years, but not before his DNA was entered into the CODIS database.

From there, Dennis moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, and in 2004, he got remarried to a woman named Elizabeth Weber. He also became a stepdad to her three children. Dennis got a job as a welder, and his boss said that he was a reliable and very hardworking employee. Now, at this point, he was no longer drinking, and with this family man persona, no one would have been able to tell that Dennis was actually a sick and twisted rapist and murderer.

Or so he thought. Now up until his parole ended in April of 2008, it seemed that Dennis had been living as a law-abiding citizen. That was until September of 2009, when he was found inside his car alone with a 19-year-old sex worker. The area was known as a sex work hotspot, and Dennis had just paid this girl $20 for oral sex.

There really is no telling what would have happened to that 19-year-old girl if a deputy hadn't come across Dennis' car on a dark dead-end street, which was ironically called Calm Lane. Dennis ended up being charged with patronizing a sex worker, but at the same time, the investigators working on the Jennifer Shewitt investigation were beginning to zero in on him as their primary suspect.

When Agent Renneson and Detective Cromey started looking into his background information, they were confused as to why someone who lived in Arkansas would be near Jennifer and Elaine's apartment in Dickinson, Texas. They decided to pull information from the Texas Department of Transportation, and they found an old traffic citation. On the citation, they discovered that during the time of Jennifer's kidnapping, Dennis had actually been living in Dickinson, just streets away from her apartment.

With enough information to connect Dennis to the crime, the district attorney authorized charges for attempted murder. Renneson and Cromey made their way to Little Rock, where they met with local law enforcement. And they waited until Dennis left his house so that they could pull him over during a traffic stop. And then he was arrested on a warrant.

After they had him in custody, Detective Cromey called to tell Jennifer that they had an arrest, and she couldn't believe it. It had been more than 19 years at this point. And even though she had never given up hope, she had started to think that her kidnapper would never be caught or maybe was long gone or even dead. When Cromey and Renneson were finally able to confront Dennis in an interrogation room, he was pretty confused as to why he was arrested during a simple traffic stop.

But they did not waste any time getting to the point. You ever heard the name Jennifer Shewitt? Yes. Did you ever have occasion to come in contact with her? Yes. Tell me about that. No. You took that little girl out there in our rake and I cut her throat. It was obvious that the name Jennifer Shewitt was the last thing that Dennis expected to hear. But he was even more shocked when they informed him that Jennifer was still alive.

My whole life for the past 20 years has been utterly and completely f***ed up. This is my mistake. I can tell, obviously, that's true. But I think you would, if you were to see her, I think you would be extremely proud of her. I really do. Oh, thank God. She's alive. Yes, she's alive. She's alive. She's alive.

You want me to tell you a secret? Oh God! Oh God! Well you have no idea how hard I have prayed for that. I'm a firm believer of Christ. But I had no idea.

It's surprising to me that after all of the media coverage following Jennifer's kidnapping, that Dennis had actually never heard that she had survived. Maybe he actually did know but wanted to act surprised and relieved that he hadn't actually killed her, even though that's clearly what he intended to do.

So while Dennis did confess to what he did, he wouldn't say how he knew Jennifer or how he ended up opening her window to kidnap her from her bedroom that night. The investigators told Dennis that he needed to provide Jennifer with closure, and he needed to do this by being completely honest about everything. And he said...

Not a single day goes by where I don't see that baby. There is no other side to the story. She was innocent, and I was a sick, deranged, beat-up little freaking punk. So I mean, at least he could see himself for what he really was, right? During the interrogation, he told Cromie and Renison that not long after he thought that he had murdered Jennifer, he had thoughts about taking his own life. But he didn't have the guts. Jennifer Stewart, Jennifer!

We got the confession and he filled in a lot of the blanks and to confirm a lot of what she remembered happened made her feel better about always wanting to remember. After his confession, Dennis Bradford was transported to the Galveston County Jail in Arkansas. Detective Cromey, Agent Renison and Jennifer held a press conference to announce that there had been an arrest made for the horrific kidnapping, sexual assault and attempted murder that had taken place almost two decades before.

all. I'd like to thank Detective Jim Comey with the Dickinson Police Department and Special Agent Richard Renison with the FBI for all of their hard work and dedication over the last year and a half and for his promise from day one never giving up on my case and for hearing my voice and seeing my determination. I was so overwhelmed.

Now, there is no way to describe the sense of relief that Jennifer felt. And she was finally going to get to do the thing that she had wanted to do since her attack.

She wanted to stand face-to-face with Dennis. She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to explain what he did to her, how she felt, and how her life would never be the same. She also wanted to stand face-to-face with him to tell him that she helped solve her own case. And even though he tried, he didn't break her. If convicted, Dennis would be facing the death penalty. And Jennifer was told that to prepare for trial, it would take around a year. The trial would have taken place 20 years to the date of her attack.

Well, Dennis R. Bradford was in the county jail awaiting trial. I get a phone call in the middle of the night. Tim, I need to talk to you. You need to wake up. I've got some news to give you.

However, in one more evil and truly cowardly move, Dennis Bradford took that chance away from her. Six months into his stay in jail, while awaiting trial, Dennis was found dead in his jail cell. He used a blanket to make a noose, and he hung himself on May 10, 2010. Even though Jennifer wasn't able to read the statement she prepared to Dennis face-to-face, after his family held a funeral, Jennifer's fiancé Jonathan drove her to the cemetery where he was buried.

She was going to make sure that Dennis heard what she had to say, even if it was from the other side. So when Jennifer sat down next to his freshly covered grave and before she could even start reading, she felt the burning sting of a fire ant biting her on the foot. Jennifer took this as a sign that God was making sure that Dennis would hear her loud and clear.

Even though Jennifer didn't get the justice that she had hoped for all of those years, she was still at peace knowing that Dennis could never hurt anyone ever again. She went on to become a motivational speaker and encouraged other victims of violent crimes to use their voice after Dennis had tried and failed to take hers away.

Even though it took Jennifer a long time to heal from everything that she had been through, the support of Jonathan, her family, Detective Cromey, and Agent Renneson helped her become a stronger person and an inspiration to people who had been through similar situations. She gave people with cold cases hope that even after decades, more and more cases are being solved due to advancements in DNA analysis.

After Jennifer and Jonathan got married, they decided it was time for them to start a family of their own. However, yet again, Dennis even nearly ruined that aspect of her life once more, even in death. Due to the violence of the sexual assault and sexually transmitted infection that arose after the attack, the doctors told Jennifer that she had pelvic inflammatory disease and hydrosalpinx, which is a condition where the fallopian tubes are blocked and filled with fluid.

They believed that Jennifer was probably infertile and would more than likely never be able to conceive children of her own. When a fertility doctor heard about Jennifer's situation and what had happened to her, he donated nearly $20,000 towards fertility treatments for Jennifer, all so that Jennifer could have a shot of fulfilling her dream of becoming a mother. And just like the doctors thought that Jennifer would never speak again, they now thought that she would never carry a child.

But she once again proved them wrong. She beat the odds and became pregnant with a little girl. After that, she and Jonathan welcomed a second child, a little boy, and this completed their family. The story of what happened to Jennifer has to be one of the most inspiring stories of resilience, faith, determination, and strength that I have ever heard. The vast majority of the cases we cover don't have happy endings.

and even though Jennifer didn't get to look Dennis in the eye, I do believe that him being dead is a happy ending, if I'm going to be quite honest, which I'm curious to know what you guys think about this case. I really can't think of anything more terrifying than having your child stolen from the safety of their own bed in the middle of the night and waking up to find their bedroom empty and a window open. As a parent,

That makes me sick to my stomach and has to be one of the most awful experiences that somebody could ever live through. And with Dennis, it's another one of those disturbing examples of a man living a complete double life. At home, he was a good father, a family man, a loving husband, a hardworking employee, all of those things. But behind closed doors and when you peel back the curtain, he was a greasy, disgusting, drinking, smoking,

sicko pedo who violated this young innocent beautiful eight-year-old little girl all for his own sick demented twisted pleasure it is foul i wish that the trial could have maybe been moved along a little faster so that jennifer could have had her day in court especially considering how much evidence there was against dennis and his confession

But at the end of the day, the world is a little safer now that Dennis is gone. And Jennifer can now move on to live a happy life with her husband and her children. A sound came out, and it was just like the world stopped for a moment. I proved everyone wrong. I like to say I haven't shut up since.

which once again it just really is a testament to her resilience overcoming all of the obstacles and now living a happy life with her family and children it really is inspiring don't forget before we go guys to take a look at all those amazing sponsors their offers they are all in the links below you got

Quince for your cashmere for all sorts of luxury goods at a fraction of the price. PDS Debt for debt management and new programs there. StoryWorth for the ultimate gift if you are looking for a gift for a loved one this holiday season. And of course, Microdose Gummies if you're trying to stay centered. Check into Microdosing and get a little more information on that. So check out those links in the description while you can.

Thank you guys so much for tuning in to today's episode of Serialistly and listening to Jennifer's story. I hope you find it inspiring just as I do. I will see you guys bright and early on Thursday morning with headline highlights where we recap everything going on in the true crime metaverse, universe, whatever you want to call it. Everything going on this week. And aside from that, I'll see you again, of course, next Monday with a brand new episode with a brand new true crime case. All right, guys, thanks so much for tuning in with me today. I will be talking with you very soon. Bye.

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.

Would you believe us if we told you our podcast is haunted? We didn't intend for this to happen. No, we did not. But apparently spirits like listening to ghost stories too. We bring you the creepiest, most unusual, and sometimes heartwarming encounters with the paranormal. Stories so chilling and so shocking that even the spirits can't help but hop on our mics and give us an occasional EVP. But we aren't the only haunted ones. Listeners of this podcast report increased levels of paranormal activity.

Our podcast brings all the ghosts to the yard, and hopefully it brings you too. Tune in to Two Girls, One Ghost wherever you listen to podcasts. It's the most haunted podcast in America. Very spooky.