83: House Party Horror: The Halloween Party That Turned Into Terror
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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.

Hey everybody, welcome back to an all-new bonus episode of Serialistly. It's me, Annie, your true crime bestie, here to talk all things true crime with you. Now, the reason why I had to jump on here and drop this bonus episode outside of the normal release schedule is because I need to talk to you about this case.

It is so wild. There is so much to talk about, so we got to get right into it. Before we do, please take a quick second, just make sure that you are following along on the podcast so that you don't miss any future episodes and bonus episodes like these that drop, and also follow along on the Serialistly Facebook page where we drop everything

In the town of Sabine County, Texas, Halloween 2020 started out like every other Halloween night.

Trick-or-treaters were walking through all of the neighborhoods, older kids were getting together to drink and celebrate in their costumes, and everyone was having a fun evening. Until the carefree and fun adventure of a typical Halloween evening turned into a bloodshed nightmare. A nightmare that didn't end on Halloween, and became more and more out of control as time went on.

Libby Lewis was a 19-year-old from Sabine County, Texas. She was absolutely beautiful. She was also a member of the Choctaw Apache tribe of Ebarb, and she was somebody who set goals for herself and really wanted to brighten her own future. She had just recently graduated in 2020 and was working as a nurse's aide and was going to nursing school with goals of becoming a nurse practitioner to be able to one day help other people.

On October 31st, 2020, Livvy went to a Halloween party with her boyfriend, Matthew Edgar. The night started off fairly normal until the couple got into an argument. Matthew had allegedly seen Livvy talking to another man at the party, which turned into a very public argument.

multiple people saw the two of them yelling back and forth and arguing. After a bit of back and forth, Livvy had decided that she was going to leave the party, causing Matthew to leave behind her, chasing her in his car.

Nobody had thought anything extremely unusual had gone down. I mean, alcohol mixed with jealousy can be a recipe for disaster in some relationships. I know I've had experiences like that. I'm sure many of us have, unfortunately. So nobody really expected that this fight was going to erupt into what it did. Because this wasn't just an alcohol-fueled spat between a young couple.

Not long later, Libby was found dead inside her vehicle along Farm to Market Road with what seemed to be a gunshot wound to her neck and facial area.

First responders had arrived at the scene believing that they were dealing with a two-vehicle car accident because they saw Livy's car and Matthew's car. However, they quickly realized that they had just arrived at a major crime scene. Shockingly enough, investigators didn't have to do much to find who more than likely did this to Livy because her boyfriend Matthew was found at the scene covered in blood and lying in the fetal position in a ditch nearby.

Matthew was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, and on the way, he told investigators that he last remembered drinking on a porch and seemed a bit confused or like he was maybe still drunk. He also told them that he had been stabbed, though once at the hospital, they found no stab wounds on his body when they were checking him out.

When investigators told Matthew that Livy was dead, they say he cried and acted shocked and distraught. So was this young couple targeted by somebody else and he was so drunk that he didn't remember the attack? Or was he in fact the one responsible? Matthew was treated for minor injuries and immediately handed over to the police. He was booked into the Sabine County Jail on November 1st and was denied a bond.

Livy's autopsy report came back, and her cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head as well as a shotgun wound to the neck. Livy was on her way home from that party when Matthew caught up to her in his truck. He used his truck to drive and follow her, and then he shot Livy. Then he took her phone and key fob and went to his mother's house. There, he got a different truck and was found later at the scene, but he had dropped the key fob at his mother's place.

Now you might be thinking, okay, case closed. This young couple was drunk at a party. They got into a fight. He followed her. He was pissed off and he killed her. Case closed. Now we just need to know why. Well, that's not even close to what is about to go down. Not by a long shot, guys.

Months passed, and in April of 2021, there was a hearing for Matthew. Despite the circumstances of the crime and the certainty of him being more than likely found guilty, Judge Craig Mixon granted him a $50,000 bail, which he posted, and just like that, he was released on bond.

District Attorney Kevin Dutton objected to the bond, but it was still set. DA Kevin said, although I do not agree on the granting of the bond, I do believe the court was following the law and changes in the law. DA Kevin told the media that the governor signed an executive order which waived the 90-day period that the state had to bring forth an indictment on a person after they had been arrested and were jailed. The Texas court shot down that order, ruling that the governor could not do that.

The court therefore ordered that the suspects who are not indicted before that 90-day deadline are to be released on a surety or personal recognizance bond. Many people in the community were understandably infuriated. Protesters gathered outside of the Sabine County courthouse to voice their frustrations and encourage people to sign their petition. However, this didn't change a single thing.

As frustrating as it was, they couldn't change the law and the judge's orders. The scariest part for everyone was that he wasn't even given any restrictions or curfews. He was essentially allowed to do whatever he wanted, wherever he wanted, which very clearly seems insane for someone that could soon be found guilty of murder.

As we all know, nobody is guilty until proven guilty, but the thought of someone being essentially free when there's even the slightest possibility that they have committed such a heinous murder is absolutely bone-chilling and just feels incredibly wrong to me.

So he was out on bond, gallivanting around, and his trial was set for almost a year later, for January 2022. And he, of course, pled not guilty. One month before the trial was set to begin, on December 15th, 2021, the Sabine County Sheriff's Office responded to a call at 2 p.m. that reported a woman had attacked a man and then broke the windshield of his car at a gas pump. This woman was Libby Lewis's mother, Darcy Bass.

Darcy had allegedly ran into Matthew at a convenience store when the situation escalated. Darcy took to Facebook to later write that she would be turning herself in after learning that Matthew was pressing charges against her.

She wrote in the post that she threw things at him, assaulted him, and damaged his vehicle. The charges against her were assault caused by bodily injury, retaliation, and criminal mischief. Her post reads,

Below it says what had happened the day before as the recap saying,

Now I just have to say, Libby's mom is a badass bitch.

the fact that she's saying and calling him out saying he ran away from me like the little bitch he is. I just gotta say, I love that. Not saying that I condone violence or assault, but I love that. So let's keep going.

Sidney Ebbarb, the niece of Darcy Bass, told the media that she had turned herself in around 4 p.m. that Monday. Sidney told the media, I don't feel like a grieving mother should have to be turning herself in. She shouldn't even have to be grieving. It was not natural causes that she's not here with us, and I just feel like they need to understand that if you were in her shoes, you would have done the same, what you would have done. Protesters gathered outside of the police station that same day to show their support for Darcy and Livvy's entire family.

On December 21st, 2021, a few days after this altercation took place, there was a post made by a woman named Ashley Short, who was allegedly with Darcy when she turned herself in. Now keep in mind, everything I'm about to say is alleged and according to a Facebook post that was, again, shared by Darcy and kept on her public page. Darcy had supposedly been told that if she turned herself in, she would be processed and released.

But when she arrived, the intake officer told her that she had come in too late and that she was going to have to spend the night. Ashley Short writes in this post,

I see Darcy take a step toward the exit with her sister Tanya beside her when Officer McDonough reached both hands from behind her, grabbed her by the shoulders, snatching and slamming her back against the wall by the intake door, and yelled, "Oh no you don't!" I saw Tanya reach out and say, "Hey you, hey, you don't have to grab her like that." Then I see the officer grab Tanya, who has medical issues, by the arm with both hands and shove her to the floor of the sheriff's office lobby floor.

He then grabs Darcy and shoved her through the intake door where I believe she fell to, just before slamming the intake door closed behind them, leaving Tanya on the floor unassisted with what is now known as a dislocated kneecap.

We called 911 at 3:47. The call was answered by the dispatcher sitting behind the glass in the lobby that this all happened in. The dispatcher then proceeded to ask questions about Tanya's condition and if her leg was broken. The ambulance arrived around 3:53 to the jail and escorted Tanya to the hospital. The mother of a murder victim spent the night in jail for assaulting her daughter's killer after the justice system in Sabine County failed her.

She should have never been put in the position to see him in her neighborhood gas station, and she most certainly should have been treated with more respect than she was shown. Officer McDonough had absolutely no right to grab her the way he did. He had no right to shove Tanya the way he did causing injury. He had no right and used exaggerated use of force for no reason when things could have been resolved in another manner. I do not feel safe having someone like that on payroll at the sheriff's office."

Included in this post was a video taken from the outside of the station when it all happened, as well as a photo of the stretcher brought in for Tanya.

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.

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.

I'm asked what's required, but they're coming in and out without them. So yeah, whatever.

Luckily, the $8,000 that was needed to get Darcy out on bond was raised and she was released. As if this case wasn't messy enough, guys, it was about to take an entirely new turn, making it so, so, so messy and crazy. Matthew's trial began as planned on January 24th, 2022.

It's during the first day of the trial that we get a better understanding of the timeline, the people involved, and the situation that happened on Halloween night. The couple, Livy and Matthew, had decided to go to a Halloween party, as we mentioned earlier. The party was held at Bobby Ozzen's home. Also in attendance was Matthew's ex-wife, Montana, Bachel.

He and Montana had gotten married in 2019 and had divorced in 2020. They had two children together. Montana told authorities that the reason for the divorce was because of his relationship with Livy. But despite that, Livy and Montana had actually become friends. Montana even said that she thought that Livy was good with the kids.

Caitlin Frick testified that she and her husband Tyler were also in attendance at this party. She claimed that they were all drinking and playing card games. She said on the stand that at some point Matthew had left and returned. She then said he flew in the driveway. He and Liv were screaming at each other, although she did not recall what they were saying.

Bobby Ozen, the homeowner, was next on the stand. He claimed that he had his fill around 1 a.m. and decided to go to his room. He claimed that Liv came into his room to talk and wanted him to come out, hang out some more, and drink some more beer with them. He said Montana then came into the room and the three of them were talking about going riding.

He then said at some point Montana and Matthew began getting into a fight, and Liv was stepping in between them trying to ease the situation. He said that all three of them then left and Matthew was threatening to kill them as they left. Matthew's ex-wife Montana was next on the stand. Montana said that Bobby didn't want them fighting at his house and had asked them all to leave. Something new that we learned was that the kids were also at the party.

She claimed that she was driving back to town in a separate vehicle without Matthew, without the kids, and without Livy. So were the kids in the car with Matthew? She claimed that during this time she tried calling Livy to make sure that she was okay. However, she got no response. Montana then told the court that Matthew had actually texted her and told her that Livy was dead.

The set of text messages between Montana and Matthew were shown. At 3:34 AM, Montana asked him, "Where is she?" The only response Matthew gave was "dead." In one of his text messages, he said, "I will watch y'all, take y'all with a smile on my face."

When on the stand, Montana was asked if she had called 911, to which she answered that she had not, and said, "But now that I think about it, I should have called 911." Uh, yeah, especially if the kids were with Matthew because they were at the party. Like, what on earth is going on? Or were the kids left behind? In any event, he's saying that Liv was dead, you knew he was in a rage, you knew the children were around, why wouldn't you call 911?

She was also asked why she didn't call 911 when Matthew had sent her that chilling text, but she told the court that she didn't because she didn't believe him. Lastly, while on the stand, she identified Matthew's gun. I had my car cranked and Libby said she had to run back inside for something and that she'd be right back outside. Well, she was inside for, I want to say, 10 or 15 minutes. So I got out and I went in there and I was like, hey, what's going on? Her and Bobby were in there talking. So I sat down and I was talking with them. We were in Bobby's room.

and everything was good. She said that she was going to stay there, so I was just going to go home. I walked out of Bobby's bedroom door, and I closed it, and Matthew was standing in the doorway. And I go to walk around Matthew, and he starts trying to choke me. And I get him off of me, and I go back in Bobby's room, and I tell Bobby, I said, get up and get your clothes on because Matthew's outside, and he's about to go crazy. So Bobby got up and got dressed and went outside, and then me and Libby followed behind Bobby.

and I seen where Matthew had beat the dog shit out of my car. All three of my doors were kicked in, and I lost my shit on Matthew. I started swinging at him. Matthew wrapped me up and threw me on the ground. All I remember is I hear Libby screaming, "No, Matthew, get off over, get off over." I'm not sure who pushed Matthew off of me. It was either Bobby or Libby.

I don't know if Matthew and Bobby had words after we left, but it couldn't have been long because not long after I left, Matthew had caught up to me and cut me off on 944 by the church road. I don't know if y'all know where that's at.

Um, he gets out and he comes to my car and he starts kicking my door again. And I go around him. And as we're driving down 944, he's like riding my ass and all kinds of stuff. I knew that if I came to my apartment, I'd be by myself. And I didn't know how well that would go for me. So I drove to, um, the brick house, his grandparents' house next to his house. And, um...

I go inside.

I have a location where I can track her, and I tracked her, and she was past the brick house, like going toward Lowe's Creek. I don't know how far down there she was, and then I never heard from her again after that. Why would you wait? So you were tracking her. When did you look to see where she was at? Not long after I had been inside. Whose house did you go into? His grandparents' house, where his mom lives at.

What you were saying there? No, no. I went there because I knew that somebody would be there. What time was this? What time was this? What time was this? What time was this? I want to say we left Bobby's around 2.30 maybe. Okay, so you were safe at 2.30? Yes, I was inside. And where do you normally live? Where do you live? I'm sorry, what? Where do you live? I live in the apartment in Hempel. So you would have went there? Yes. But instead of going there, you went to his family's house? Yes.

Yes. And that was, and so after that he didn't mess with you because you were safe because you was at his family's house? Yes. And Livvy, Livvy, where was, Livvy passed by and was going towards Lowe's Creek at what time? Around that same time. She was in front of me. Livvy was in front of you? Yes. And you didn't know where Livvy was going to go that way? Where was she going? I'm sorry. Go in there. I'm on the phone. Okay. Hold on. I'm coming. Go in there. Where was Livvy going? Do what? Where was Livvy going?

I have no idea. So she, do y'all know anywhere that she would be going out there towards Lowe's Creek? I don't. But at that time, I mean, after all that, she's going to go. So she, Libby was in front of you. She's going all the way. She don't know if you're going to the apartment. Are y'all talking, are y'all talking on the phone? No, I, no, we did. And I asked her if she was okay. She said yes. And she told me to go home. But y'all were right behind each other.

Y'all were right behind each other when y'all talked? So, you didn't see Matthew nor Livy no more after that, after 2.30? No, I did not.

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.

Jail calls were also played in court on this day, one call being between Matthew and his mother, Cindy. In this call, Matthew had asked two very specific things: for her to bring books, along with how to secure his guns, including the .308 gun used in the murder. It was estimated that Livy was killed between 3 and 4 a.m., and the last bit of important information shared was that Livy's ankles were crossed when they found her body.

Prosecutors claimed this was because the vehicle was stopped and she must have been getting comfortable in a comfortable position to have a conversation with someone such as her boyfriend Matthew. Day two of the trial had even more witnesses and testimony from individuals such as forensic scientist Carrie Todd, medical examiner Dr. Danielle Armstrong, forensic examiner Jay Norman, and many more.

The conversation was about DNA in Matthew's vehicle, the autopsy results, the bullets used, and the swabs taken from scratches on Matthew's chin and face. Then everything took a turn on day three. Day three of the trial began, but one crucial thing was missing: Matthew. He had completely vanished.

The trial still continued without him while investigators searched for Matthew. Matthew's defense attorney, Roy Hughes, asked the jurors in court to only give his client 50 years in prison because the jury had an option of anywhere between 5 and 99 years, but it had to be agreed upon unanimously.

So on January 27, 2022, despite his absence, Matthew was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison and also had to pay a $10,000 fine. But still, Matthew was nowhere to be found. A little hard to face your sentence if you can't be found. After being convicted, the trial moved into the punishment phase on the morning of Friday, January 28th.

new information was exposed that was previously completely unknown. A probation officer testified that Matthew had actually been on probation for a different crime, and part of the probation was to wear an ankle monitor.

But Matthew had stopped charging the battery, and his last ping was at 11:37 p.m. on that Wednesday, the day before he fled and ultimately was found guilty of murdering Livy. Also, while he was out on bond, he was arrested on new charges of assaulting a woman and criminal mischief. The woman he assaulted was his ex-wife, Montana.

Matthew was accused of choking her neck, kicking her, and damaging the doors of her vehicle. Next to take the stand was Sabine County Sheriff's Department investigator. He testified about a 2014 vehicle pursuit of Matthew that resulted in a crash involving the car Matthew was driving as well as a patrol car that resulted in a broken vertebrae in Matthew's back as well as Officer Pete Davis breaking a leg.

According to the police, the Hemp Hill Police Department and the Sabine County Sheriff's Department had both been involved in two different pursuits of Matthew, and he had somehow managed to escape both times. Matthew led police on a third chase that lasted about 10 miles. Matthew's vehicle went through a stop sign and crashed into a wooded area on the side of the road. However, yet he still managed to get out of police hands.

He used his cell phone to call a friend to come and pick him up, but the friend notified police of where he was and then they picked him up instead. Libby's family, friends, and supporters throughout the whole county were absolutely dumbfounded to learn all of this new information. Not only was he allowed out on bail when he could possibly be a murderer, but it was known and very clear to the authorities that this was not at all his first run-in with the police.

I would think his criminal record as well as the possibility of being found guilty of, I don't know, first degree murder would make someone like that who was out on bond an extreme flight risk. And understandably so, since that's exactly what he did. Talk about dropping the ball. So days turned into months and Matthew was still not found. And guys, it gets even crazier. I can't say that we even got justice because he's not

We don't know where he is. I mean, we don't know where he is, what he's doing, if he will ever even be found to get his sentence, you know. But I'm glad that the jury did see him guilty and did not give him a slap on the wrist. And I was mad because he don't get to make this decision. Like, you did what you did. You need to face that. We had to sit in that courtroom and hear things and see things that just –

It hurt us. It was reliving it all over again. This case has some insane similarities to the Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie case. Unfortunately, this case has not even received half of the publicity that the Petito case did. Investigators claimed that the following months after Matthew fled, that they had followed up on about 30 leads and sightings, and they all came up dry.

At one point, there was a tip that Matthew may have been in his grandparents' home. However, when it was searched, there were no signs of him. Definitely stings a little bit that he's not here. They allowed him enough range for him to be able to run off and not be held accountable for his actions once again.

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.

Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Based on Facebook pages, as well as what has been said in the media, the whole situation of Matthew being on the run is very fishy for many reasons.

Starting with the fact that on the third day of trial, when Matthew didn't show up, neither did anyone in his family, even though they had showed up the previous two days. Now, I cannot find information to say with 100% certainty if it was known before the trial began that he was missing or if it wasn't known until after the trial began.

The media makes it seem as if it wasn't known until he simply didn't show up at the scheduled time of the trial. And if that's the case, why wasn't his family there? Shouldn't they have been present and shocked as everybody else was in the courtroom to find out that he had fled? Or did they already know he was planning to flee? Which we're going to get to. Darcy Bass' Facebook page is full of her beliefs of what really happened.

Similarly to the Laundries, Darcy believes that Matthew's family fully knew that he was leaving. She also believes that his ex-wife, Montana, knows more than she is saying or may have even been involved. Darcy made a status on February 26 that says,

It still makes me sick to think that he posted something like this in the middle of whatever happened to my daughter. Still, so many unanswered questions. Montana knows what happened and has been caught lying numerous times. Maybe if the law would prosecute on perjury and apply some pressure, we would know the whole story and whose DNA was present.

Maybe Montana was there too. She posted this along with a series of photos Montana had posted from Halloween night that shows Matthew commented on her post at 3:02 AM, which is the timeframe that Livy was believed to have been killed.

Now, I'll be honest, a lot of things with Montana do not add up. Not calling 911, even though the kids were reportedly at the party and possibly even in the car with Matthew. Did she go and pick them up from the scene? Did she meet him at the scene? The conflict and charges between Montana and Matthew as all of this was unraveling. There's just so many things that feel disjointed here. We also know that she told investigators that the reason that she and Matthew separated and divorced was because of Livvy.

Was she jealous? Was she participating in this to get her out of the way so she could put her family back together? Was there more involvement? Because Olivia's family seems to think there was. Darcy also pointed out on her Facebook the suspiciousness behind Matthew's ankle monitor dying the night before his court day and how nobody had thought to check it out.

Unfortunately, many people think that ankle monitors are live tracking, but many are just actually a third party company reporting the locations back after the fact. So nobody would have more than likely noticed that it had even died for a while if he hadn't not shown up to court that day. She also pointed out many times that his family doesn't seem concerned in the search for their son. Ironically enough, his family did arrange a search on September 10th, 2022, which was months after he had last been seen.

The search was to be held in the same area where he was seen almost eight months prior. Now this, in my personal opinion, makes them look even more suspicious and like they're trying to cover their tracks by looking concerned, appearing concerned. I mean, did they really think that after almost eight months later of him being on the run, that he would be still alive on the run and that he would still be in that exact same area that he was in eight months prior?

Matthew's sister Jenna commented to the media in August, saying, "At this point, neither I or my family members know if my brother is dead or alive." So maybe his family was searching for his body during that September search? Either way, I truly don't understand why nothing was done by them for almost eight months. Unless, of course, it's because they allegedly know exactly where he is. Darcy is extremely disappointed and feels the justice system has failed her daughter.

Seeing her Facebook posts as well as interviews she has done is absolutely heartbreaking. How do you feel right now? I feel like that I am in some type of nightmare. Like, I'm definitely in a nightmare. Definitely don't, I can't rule anything out at this point. You know, I feel like you never know what can happen. Never in a million years have I thought that this would happen to my daughter.

um, never a million years would I think that, um, that it would end up like this, that, you know, someone would commit a crime, you know, this heinous crime and, and be able just to walk off, you know, um, that is unimaginable. You know, um, I thought that, you know, the justice system would have been just a little bit more tougher and, um, not so lenient. I understand that the, um,

The verdict was great and I thank the jurors and the sentencing was great, but the lack of trying to keep an eye on that person and this is a very dangerous person, the most dangerous person in our area, okay? And they don't have a lot of people just to look after and they should have done a better job of looking after this one to protect not only myself and my family, but the community also.

And now everyone, you know, nationwide. So, yes. And so what do you feel needs to be done to find Mr. Edgar? I mean, they need to be doing everything that they can. I understand, you know, that maybe they are. But, you know, like today, all the state troopers here, I've never in my life seen so many cop cars. But, yeah.

I just felt like if they had been walking side by side, all these people through the woods, maybe there could have been a little bit more ground cover. Maybe if they were stopping the vehicles that were going through. Maybe if they were watching the family a little bit closer, keeping an eye on their comings and goings, their phone records, everything like that, then I think that that would definitely help contribute. I just don't see the...

The urgency. I don't see the urgency to find him, you know, and I don't there's no flyers up in town. I guess I'm going to have to be the one to print those, which I had someone message me about doing those. And it's a wonderful idea. And just get it out there. You know, I think social media, you know, for.

you know, to be able to share and people out there that is doing things on social media, but we have to be here like doing things on the ground floor, you know, and I get messages saying that he's out of the country. I get messages from saying he's in, you know, Louisiana and Beaumont, you know, I personally don't think that he's very far. Yes, I don't think he's very far.

And what are officers telling you? Are you checking in with them frequently on this search? Well, since I was never like, I haven't been told anything. I haven't been given any updates. I haven't been contacted as far as that. You know, today, you know, after the holiday, you know, from yesterday, I will call them. There's some other something else had come up. Something had happened at her cross.

She had a picture on her cross and yesterday I stopped by there and her picture was perfectly cut out. It was a five by seven and it was perfectly cut out with maybe like a razor blade. I had three of my friends with me and it was just too much. I didn't, you know, I didn't even know what to think. So I'm going to contact them and let them know that, you know, that

So, yeah, I'm going to be in contact with them. They have not just called and updated me. It's been kind of a more or less a strained relationship between me and them, being that they never came to my house and told me about my daughter, never told me where they were taking her whenever after the accident. You know, of course, I was the grieving mother. I am the grieving mother pushing the card like, well, have y'all checked this? Have y'all checked that? You know, like, where's the cameras in town? So there's

been a lot of write me off as hard to deal with and um but I'm just seeking the truth I just I want the truth I understand that we got a conviction but I think that um I mean he laid in the ditch and waited for somebody to find him because that's how um the scene was set and so you feel like there's no justice right now no no none um I thought I would get like a little bit of relief in the first day in the courtroom I did I got a little bit of relief

I thought, oh my gosh, you know, like they're going to be, they're doing this, you know, and then it just went south because there was questions that were not asked and there was only questions asked, you know, that they knew the answers to already. And more than 99 years, I wanted to know what happened to my daughter. Like what went so terrible?

Why did you go from trusting this person with your child, you know, him and her both, Matthew and Montana, to wanting to, you know, kill this person, kill my daughter, kill this person that was taking care of your most precious item, you know, and...

um, no, there's no justice. There's no justice. I feel like there's other people that helped, that helped him. They knew about the, um, that, that Libby had been, um, I can't even say it, that my daughter was gone and they didn't do anything. They didn't call the authorities. Um, there, there's people that have perjured the court several times and obstruction of justice, perjury, none of those things have been brought up. And I feel like if they were, then, you know, um,

pressure buzzpipes, you know, and if that pressure would have been applied, then the things that we, that I don't know, may have come out. On December 6th, 2022, In Pursuit with John Walsh aired a segment concerning the murder of Livvy Lewis. Not long after In Pursuit with John Walsh aired, Matthew was finally captured. The Texas top 10 fugitive of justice who walked away from his murder trial almost one year ago was captured outside of Pimphill. But the

But the investigation into what went wrong and who may have helped Edgar is just now beginning. Tonight we have new information straight from the U.S. Marshals Service on how law enforcement busted Edgar after 337 days on the run. He may have been a no-show in court on day three of his murder trial, but last January a jury convicted Edgar of murder in the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend Libby Lewis Halloween night 2020. His sentence?

99 years in prison. Now others are also looking at some hard time as well. That's because the lead investigator with the US Marshals Service believes Edgar remained in East Texas or continued his close ties to the community and that his family and acquaintances were helping him quote.

stay off the grid. That's despite family members insisting to authorities he had simply walked out the back door of their home that day and disappeared. Meantime, Darcy Bass, the mother of victim Livvy Lewis, has prayed for his capture since day one. Speaking with KFDM 6 News, Bass is calling on swift justice for anyone who helped Edgar Hyde. They got him. Oh my goodness. Like, he was right here. That is crazy.

I don't understand how that happens, but let's just pray that everyone that helped him and assisted him, harbored him, will also be brought to justice. New details for you today. Federal agents had been following up on leads that Matthew Edgar was holed up at a home surrounded by woods on Richard Drive, that's just northeast of Pimphill, not far from where Livvy Lewis' body was found on the side of the highway.

The weather bad on Thursday, but law enforcement surrounded that home on Richard Drive for hours, taking cover behind trees and buildings waiting for hours. Finally, around 8:30 thanks to night vision technology, Edgar smoking a cigarette and another man was spotted on the back porch. Law enforcement quickly moved in. Edgar was arrested without incident. The other man released for now.

Alright guys, thank you so much for tuning in to another bonus episode with me. Like I said at the top of this episode, make sure you're following the podcast so that you don't miss any more bonus episodes in the future. And if you would be so kind as to just quickly rate this podcast, review it. It takes 30 seconds max to leave a review and it really does help the algorithm and help push this podcast out to more people so that these victim stories get heard, which we know is the goal.

So thank you guys so much for tuning in to another bonus episode, and I will be talking to you again very, very soon. All right, it's me, Annie, signing off. An official message from Medicare.

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