UPDATE: Alissa Turney

[00:00] This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. For some of us, summer means more juggling, which can lead to overwhelm and worry. BetterHelp makes it easy to get the support you need. Having served over 6 million people globally, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform. They'll match you with a quality licensed therapist, so you can focus on your therapy goals. You don't have to say yes to everything this summer. Find support in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com slash crimejunkie. That's betterhelp.com slash crimejunkie. [00:29] Hi, Crime Junkies. It's Britt, and I have big news. One of my favorite seasonal shows, CounterClock, is back with a brand new season, and it is wild. Host Delia D'Ambra is digging into the 2008 Lane Bryant murders. I mean, this isn't just a recap. It is a reinvestigation. She's talking to law enforcement, people from the community, even sources who have never spoken publicly until now. And you know I love a show that asks all the questions. Listen to CounterClock season eight now, wherever you get your podcasts. [00:59] On our last episode, we told you about the strange disappearance of Alyssa Turney. She went missing back in 2001, but it wasn't until a serial killer in Florida falsely confessed to murdering her in 2006 that her case was finally investigated, and police, friends, and family came to realize that Alyssa was likely the victim of foul play. It took years for family members to find out that Mike Turney, Alyssa's stepdad, had taken her out of school early the day she went missing. [01:29] he had video surveillance in their home and recorded all incoming and outgoing phone calls, the tapes from the day Alyssa went missing and the call she supposedly made to her stepfather a week later from California could not be produced because they were either taped over or the recording devices were conveniently turned off. Mike became an immediate suspect in many people's minds as his stories changed and new information about his relationship with Alyssa

[01:59] Alyssa's half-sister Sarah. But in the years since Mike's arrest and his subsequent release from prison for making those 26 pipe bombs, information has come out that has changed Sarah's mind. And now she has become Alyssa's number one champion, advocating for justice and demanding answers from her own father, the man she thinks did something to her sister. [02:24] Music [02:56] - When I saw myself on the 2020 episode, now as an adult, it's extremely difficult to watch. I look so naive and it's just really sad. I really believed [03:08] that my father had nothing to do with it, and I could never grasp the idea that he could even try to hurt someone. So it's extremely difficult to watch now. [03:16] So I know you learned a lot in the 2020 special, like you and all of your family did, stuff that you never knew before. In our last episode, we mentioned how it was the first time anyone in your family knew that Mike Turney had actually picked Alyssa up out of school early that day. But I don't think that was the most shocking thing that we learned from that 2020 special. This was the first time that it also became publicly known that Alyssa had actually been making accusations to people that Mike had molested her, correct?

[03:46] Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I found out so much from that 2020, including that she was being sexually molested by him, which was a huge shock to me. I'd never heard that before. I mean, only when the police sat me down and kind of yelled it in my face, but to see journalists. [04:01] come to the same conclusion with [04:02] Totally different. But it didn't click all at once, you know. It took a while to think in. At first, I really rejected the TV show and I was really upset about it and I thought that they had wronged me. But now I see that they're just pointing to the same conclusion that everyone does. How long had it been going on? Do you know for sure? [04:21] No, I mean, I don't know for sure. It's hard because at this point we're really piecing together letters and piecing together statements. But I want to say, I mean, for years, [04:32] at least [04:33] I mean if you look at the video where the home video I found where Alyssa called my father a pervert she was 14 in that video. [04:41] So you mentioned some letters, which I think are important, because when we talked about them raiding your dad's house, looking for evidence against him in Alyssa's disappearance, they end up finding these 26 pipe bombs. But they did end up collecting like tubs of audio tapes and documents and documents. [05:01] Part of that included some letters, correct? [05:05] Or did you find the letters from someone else? Well, so... [05:08] I mean, which letters are you referring to? Ones where she was talking about being molested. I know in the tubs there were some documents, like there were contracts where she had to sign, right, and say that she wasn't molested? Yeah, so sorry. There's so many different documents in that statement. So in the tubs, I believe in the tubs, I don't know if he had these somewhere safe or if it was just thrown in with a bunch of other documents. I really couldn't tell you.

[05:38] and that, you know, she would follow so many different rules. It was absolutely disgusting. And then, you know, there was another set of letters that a friend came forward with on the podcast that talked about being molested. So... [05:52] I mean, we have multiple pieces of evidence that are pretty strong, I feel. [05:56] Mm-hmm. [05:57] And so she wrote these letters to friends, but that wasn't the only time that she tried reaching out for help, right? Like she tried so many different times with so many different people, right? Oh, absolutely. I mean, at one point I had me and Octavia, the podcast producer, we share... [06:12] this giant stack of documents that she requested from the city because there's thousands of them and requesting them is so painful that to go through it again just seems crazy. So we share it, and I was trying to go through it, and finally how many people had stated that they knew that she was being molested. And I have this post-it note, and it's almost completely full of names. And I want to say it's, you know, close to 20, 25 people on there that knew, that told the police this after the fact. So, I mean, when they say there's no evidence, I don't know what they mean. [06:42] Yeah, I mean 25 people is astonishing. And I know just from that 2020 special, her boyfriend had heard allegations. One of your brothers, right? Her stepbrothers had heard allegations. Some of her friends and you know everyone, I guess I can understand people are young, they're teenagers. But one of the people that stood out the most to me is you had mentioned that she told a teacher. That's correct. Yeah, she told a teacher when I want to say she was nine or 10 years old, right after her mother passed.

[07:11] So the molestation could have been happening since then. But she cried out for help, you know, to adults and to her peers and to her siblings and nobody helped and it's heartbreaking. It really is because it doesn't seem like something she was trying to hide too hard. [07:26] Like she was looking for help constantly. And she obviously never said anything to you. You were so shocked by it. Do you think it was something that she was trying to like [07:33] protect you from or keep from you because you were so young? I do. Yeah. I mean, I think because I was young and that she was trying to protect me. And I don't know, maybe she thought I would have told my dad. I was extremely close to my father and extremely loyal to my father, as you can see from my past behavior. And maybe she was afraid to tell me because I would tell on her because I told on her all the time. You know, I wasn't a cool little sister. I was that little sister that told on her all the time, which is, you know, one of my biggest regrets. It's hard. I was very young, [08:03] . [08:04] Yeah, I wouldn't have kept that secret, I bet. Now, you mentioned a couple of times the podcast, the podcast. We're going to link out to all of that on our website. But there was an entire podcast done by an amazing journalist or investigative journalist in Arizona all about Alyssa's case. And one of the most interesting things that I thought got brought up on that podcast was a story from a relative that had come to live with your dad for a while. Can you tell us more about that? [08:33] Yeah, so one of my cousins came forward. He lived with us in the early or maybe mid-90s. [08:39] And his story is that when he lived with us, he came home late from a shift at Sam's Club or something to that effect. And he popped in a VHS into the VHS player, Dr. Doolittle. And on it, he found pornographic material of two young women naked from the waist up with a newspaper covering their faces. And he believes that that person was Alyssa and one of her friends that he can't remember the name of.

[09:08] At that point he turned off the tape. He immediately grabbed all his things and left. And he never told my father why. So that's his story. I was very young. I can't confirm really what happened when he left. I don't remember. But I remember he did live with us. And I do remember that one day he was kind of just gone. [09:28] And obviously the other girl has never been identified since, right? [09:32] correct she's never come forward and I've outright asked some of her friends that I thought thought that the profile and no one came forward um [09:40] Which, of course, I could understand. It would be extremely helpful if they did, but I understand why they wouldn't. [09:46] You know, you talked about how knowing what you know now, it changes kind of how you view everything and your relationships and your dad's relationships with people. Do you suspect that your dad may have had an inappropriate relationship with anyone other than your sister? [10:01] Yeah, absolutely. I mean, my brother's friends have come forward and said that he was extremely creepy and did some really... [10:09] perverted things kind of outright and I also believe that it's possible that a friend that was living with me had an inappropriate relationship with him while she was [10:19] I gosh, 16 or 17 at the time. They would go to the movies together without me and go to dinner without me. And they were extremely close. And she came from, you know, pretty bad backgrounds and came to our house because it was a better environment. And they were really close and I was... [10:36] always kind of jealous. You know, I was 16, 17, and I would always tell him, "You love her more than me, and you treat her better, and you buy her more things." And I look back on it now, and it just seems kind of gross. I don't speak to that friend anymore. We were childhood best friends, and she stopped speaking to me once we went to prison. She just

[10:56] wouldn't contact me any longer. [10:59] We're all online so much, it's easy to forget about a purchase that you made even two days ago. And I don't know about you, but me and my husband sometimes will purchase like the same subscription and we've got it twice. But that doesn't need to happen with Rocket Money because Rocket Money helps monitor your spending like a personal assistant for your wallet. Beyond stopping money leaks, the app consolidates all your accounts into a single dashboard. You can get personalized insights, reports and custom real time alerts to stay on top of your budgeting goals. [11:29] with just a few taps, saving users over $880 million in canceled subscriptions. So basically, this app gives you an easy, intuitive, and effective way to control your finances. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at rocketmoney.com slash crimejunkie. That's rocketmoney.com slash crimejunkie. [11:59] rocketmoney.com slash crimejunkie. [12:02] There were other stories that came out in the podcast that I think are very telling in giving background to your father and like his family and kind of where he comes from. There were some other family members saying that there's basically a pattern of incest and molestation with not just Mike, but also his brother. Yeah, I mean, that's what they're coming out and saying. I'm not sure. It's not something I heard growing up.

[12:32] you [12:32] I couldn't confirm it for sure. I mean, we know that he did it to Alyssa. At one point in the 70s, I believe my father was a deputy sheriff in Maricopa County in Arizona. [12:41] And he was at his brother's house, my uncle's home, and there was a bunch of children there. And he apparently helped cover up the attempted murder of his brother's wife. So allegedly his brother's wife and my father were having an affair. [13:00] And his brother found out, came in, shot his wife, I believe a few times. I'd have to re-listen to my cousin's stories again to tell you for sure. Shot her a few times. One of the children did see it firsthand. And then my father went in there and tried to cover everything up. They had all the children. Well, they set out all the guns on the back of the truck. They covered it up with blankets and had all the kids sit on top and tell them not to talk to the police, apparently. And she almost died but did not. [13:30] And no one was ever charged. I don't believe there were any charges on anyone. And pretty soon after that, my father resigned from being a police officer. [13:38] Wow. I remember I just recently re-listened to that episode from your cousin. And yeah, her story is [13:46] crazy because she talks about how, at least from my memory, that [13:49] Mike was almost trying to get the kids out of the house and she felt like she had walked in at the... [13:56] and [13:57] Maybe you changed the way he shot her mom or something like that, but it was insane to hear her talk about this years later. And she was the same one that said, you know, there was this pattern of abuse.

[14:06] on our side of the family as well and she's like I feel like I've blocked a lot of that out. [14:11] Yeah, absolutely. I mean, of course, she tells it so much better than I do. And I believe she was, you know, 10 or 12 at the time. So she was at a coherent age. But yeah, it's absolutely insane how far this goes back and how many rabbit holes you can really dive into with how horrible the man my father is and possibly... [14:28] his brother and the rest of the family. It's very scary. So there's obviously this allegation of Mike helping your brother not cover up a murder because your aunt ended up living and she didn't want to press charges. She was scared of him. But kind of him helping in this situation, does any part of you think that maybe your uncle helped your dad? Oh, yeah, it's absolutely crossed my mind. And I did have another cousin come forward to me. We reconnected a few years ago, [14:58] just a hard family to be in but one of the first things she said to me when we had reconnected after 10 years was I think my father helped your father kill Alyssa it was literally one of the first things she said to me and then you know at this point we're kind of on this cliffhanger with her she said that my uncle James was dying and that he had told her some things that she had to tell me and she had to get it off her chest but then she would never meet me and she would never tell me over the phone and that was probably two years ago and he hasn't died now but um [15:28] It's hard. There's so many people that are afraid of both of our fathers. [15:32] that I don't know. I mean, I think it's completely possible. Who do you go to in that type of situation where you need to hide a body or you need help and you need a convenient solution? I mean, he lived, I believe, two hours up north on a ton of land. It would have been extremely convenient

[15:47] lot closer than Desert Center California which is you know the [15:51] the common place that people think she's buried. And they think that because it was mentioned in his manifesto, correct? [15:57] Yeah, so my father said that there were two men from the Union that killed Alyssa, that he later killed those two men also, but that she was buried. [16:05] Yeah, the timeline doesn't quite add up because if he got Alyssa... [16:24] around 11 at the earliest. People say between 11 and 12, even if it's 11 at the earliest, and he picks you up likely between 4.30 and 5, so 5 at the latest. You're talking actually 6 hours. Yeah, I think it was very close. Yeah, it makes more sense that he would have to go somewhere that was 2 to 3 hours early. [16:42] one way. [16:43] somewhere a lot closer. Absolutely. You had mentioned that you thought there was a possibility that maybe she was at what's now like a very big shopping center, right? Yeah, I do. It's hard because I spent so much time there as a middle schooler. But essentially in the summer of 2001, there was this very large shopping center being built, an outdoor mall that is very common in Arizona. So there's a Target and there's a Kohl's and there's a string of small stores in between. [17:13] large landscape of stores. But during that time, like I said, it was being built, you know, lots of holes. And we'd actually spent a lot of time out there. We owned a go-cart and we would always ride right where they were building this shopping center. So I think it's very plausible. It's very close. It's very convenient. How easy would it be to throw her in a pre-existing hole, throw some dirt over it, knowing that in a few weeks it's going to be covered up? You know, and I did a little bit of research into it, you know, and I've been told that they do ground penetrating radar, but

[17:41] before they put these doors in, but it's only before they dig. So if you catch them after they dig, [17:47] they're not going to search it again. Gosh, that's kind of terrifying. So I used to shop at Desert Ridge Shopping Center all the time when I lived in Phoenix, and knowing that... [17:56] she could be there but literally if she is there's [17:59] There's no answers unless he were to tell you. [18:01] or someone were to tell you, right? [18:03] I mean, that or ground-tentering radar, if they would just... [18:06] I don't know exactly how it works, but if we could get in there. There was something that did come up, though, in Desert Center back in 2013, if I'm remembering correctly. I think they found some kind of remains, but it was very inconclusive on even if they were male or female. Is that correct? Yeah, so a hiker came across some bones in Desert Center, California. And they did test the bones, but it was extremely inconclusive. They could get almost nothing from it, but... [18:34] A few months ago in September, I called and I asked to see if we could get those bones retested, just to see, you know, if technology had changed in 10 years. And I'm currently awaiting response from, I forget which county it is in California, but from their coroner's office. So hopefully they will retest the bones or find them worthy, or I don't know what the process is, but I'm really hoping to get those retested, you know. Hopefully in 10 years things have changed. [19:00] Yeah, I'm really interested as well on [19:03] Like whose decision that is? Is that... [19:05] Is that the investigators? Is it like who decides what gets retested and when?

[19:11] I'm sure that's not something you have the answer to, but I'd love to actually [19:14] talk to somebody [19:16] And to find out. I'm trying to... I'm actually going through my mind right now. I'm thinking about like... I'm working with an investigator... [19:21] Yeah. Well, they had me originally call the police department. The police department told me to call the coroner's office. Um, [19:27] So, I'm not sure. I would venture to say there's no, like, set guidelines. It's just somebody has to push it forward and... [19:35] Everyone's kind of like passing the buck. [19:37] Yeah, I mean, when I called, they were certainly really... [19:40] surprised at my [19:42] It didn't seem like something that happens a lot. [19:46] I'm not sure what they're going to say. [19:48] It'd be really interesting. Again, I don't know what's available with these remains. Do you know exactly what was found? Was it just bones? Was it just like a couple of bones? [19:56] I'm not sure, I've only [19:57] heard the term bones. [19:59] Okay. I mean, with all of, like, the genealogy stuff now, even if it's... [20:03] you know, they find that it's not Alyssa, it'd be really interesting if that's something they could use to see who it was. [20:08] Yeah, hopefully we can figure out whoever it is. So knowing, obviously, everything that you do now, there's obviously so much going on in the home that you weren't aware of. What things do you look back on now and see in a totally different light? Oh, goodness, everything. I mean, literally everything. All the things that I thought he was cool for doing. I look back and it's obviously really bad, really bad parenting. And I had so much freedom from such a young age and I realized that he just didn't care. [20:38] trickled down to Alyssa he was so overbearing but it was always protect himself

[20:45] Like, he never... [20:46] cared about his children at a certain point and [20:52] I mean, everything was, you know, there's new stories about my mother, and there's just new things coming out every single day. Um... [20:58] the way he treated my friends now I [21:01] think twice about. The way he treated me, I think twice about. The way he treated the animals, I think twice about. You know, what he was doing, spending all this time alone in our garage and, you know, tinkering and arts and crafts and ordering things from... [21:16] this gun catalog thing that I can't even describe and we would have 20 packages come every day from this catalog and I have no idea what he was doing. [21:26] Yeah, I mean, I wish I could piece it together and try to figure out where it began. And when he started building the bombs and when he started molesting Alyssa, and if I noticed, I can't tell if I'm blocking it out or... [21:39] if I just didn't see it. [21:41] For decades, some cold cases have been reduced to files in a cabinet, but not anymore. I'm Ashley Flowers, and me and my team on the deck have been traveling across the country to report on these forgotten cases. And in some instances, it's resulted in these cases being solved after decades. [22:00] Join me every Wednesday as we revive these stories one card at a time. Listen to the deck now. [22:08] wherever you get your podcasts. [22:11] Does any part of you now think that maybe she could have run away? No. No. There's zero part of me that thinks she could have run away. How do you interpret the note that she left now? Like, do you think she actually wrote it? Any part of it? When she wrote it? Yeah, so I think that note was intended for the day that she spoke with our Aunt Lynette. She had a conversation with her about going out to California to go live with her.

[22:34] Um, and I think that was Alyssa writing it that day and maybe planning to run away. Um, but I don't think she placed it. I think my father found that note, um, where it says, you know, dad and Sarah, when you dropped me off at school today, I decided I really am going to California. Um, Sarah, you wanted me gone. Look, now you have it, dad. That's why I saved my money. Um, and then dad, I took $300 from you, Alyssa. [23:04] and her name could have been a forced action. It's hard, and I could be looking into it because I obviously read a lot into all these things, and I've just been looking at it for too long. But if you look at the note... [23:19] though [23:20] structures of the sentences physically are all very much the same until the last sentence. And it just looks a little bit sloppier. And that's when it says, Dad, I took $300 from you, Alyssa. So the fact that she would have taken $300 is just odd to me because she had saved $1,800 [23:36] as she wrote in her note that she had been saving her money and she didn't take it. [23:40] And then she writes her name in a style that she never writes her name. And she usually uses a very large lowercase as opposed to a capital A. So those two parts are just so strange to me. They just don't make any sense. [23:52] So I think it could have been a combination of things, but at the very least, [23:57] she didn't leave the letter for us. I totally believe that my father found it. [24:02] and was just kind of struck at the opportunity. It all kind of aligned for him. I was gone on a field trip. He finds this note.

[24:11] He's upset because he knows that she's going to go to California, find an adult she can trust in to finally tell all these things, and that my aunts are so mad that they'll actually do something about it. [24:22] I think he kind of saw everything fall away in front of him and thought his only opportunity to save his life was to get rid of Alyssa. Finally, this burden that he had talked about his whole life. You know, he always talked about what handful she was, what little pistol she was. You know, outright called her a bitch from a very young age. This was finally his chance to get rid of her. And... [24:44] become super dad like he thought he was. So you think it was if it happened that way it was likely [24:52] Maybe not very far in advance, but... [24:55] That when he picked her up, if he did it, he likely knew what he was going to be doing. [25:01] I believe so, yeah. And [25:03] it seemed like that's kind of what he did. You know, there's multiple people that came forward with a story about [25:09] my father taking Alyssa out into the middle of the desert and trying to sexually molest her. So I think that was him [25:15] trying to stage the scene that he was going to do the same thing again so she wouldn't be suspecting. [25:19] But this time he did something different. I know you don't really have a relationship with your dad anymore, but you actually did confront him recently. Like what questions did you ask him? [25:28] Oh, I asked him everything, absolutely everything about Alyssa. That was my main objective. I asked him if he did it. [25:37] He told me he would tell me on his deathbed or that he would tell me if the state gave him lethal injection within 10 days of his statement.

[25:45] So he was mocking me. He was taunting me the whole entire time. He's 70 years old, and he came on a cane despite having health reports that say he's as healthy as a 45-year-old. He's playing the part. So he came, and he acted soft and like, you know, I'm so happy to be here and that we can reestablish this relationship. And I told him that's not what I was there for and that I needed to ask him these questions for my own well-being. And because I wanted to hear it from him outside of a prison line for the first time, [26:15] ways it wasn't somehow recorded before this. [26:18] And yeah, I just kind of gave it to him and he wasn't ready for that. And he turned from, you know, trying to be comforting and trying to bring me back into his life to shutting me out and getting really aggressive and saying that maybe he should just never see his kids again. And he leaned across the table at me and he talked through his teeth and I wanted to lean back and I just kind of gave it back to him. And I wanted him to know that [26:43] I'm not afraid of him and I don't respect him and I see him as nothing. And that's kind of a change for you and it's got to feel really good. I remember you saying that your dad for a long time was very manipulative and would threaten suicide or saying you're better off without him. And it's kind of like what he used to control you for a lot of years. [27:04] Oh, absolutely. I mean, every day he would tell me that he was going to go run away to a cave because his kids didn't love him. I mean, from a very young age, you know, he'd say maybe he just won't come back. And I remember, like, I would have the biggest guilt if I didn't give my dad a hug and a kiss on the cheek before I left for school or before he left for wherever, because I thought genuinely that would be the last time I would see him. And that's also why I stayed home from school two to three days a week. I mean, I miss...

[27:31] half of my school days from sixth grade until I dropped out on my first day of senior year. Because I was genuinely afraid that he would leave and never come back and that I would have nothing. [27:43] You know, I had already lost my mother. I had already lost my sister. My brothers weren't around. He's all I had. And he, in my eyes, had always treated me so good. You know, if I wanted money to go to the mall, here it was. If I wanted my boyfriend to move in, sure, why not? If I wanted beer because I was, you know, a sad teenager, then why not? Have all your friends over. Have a party. I'll buy the beer. [28:13] I am at Cristown in a dangerous part of Phoenix. [28:17] you go for it, you just be happy. [28:20] So I thought... [28:22] he was looking out for me and that he loved me and that he wanted me to be happy. And little did I know, all this time, he was the one causing... [28:30] pretty much everything terrible in my life. [28:34] For decades, some cold cases have been reduced to files in a cabinet, but not anymore. I'm Ashley Flowers, and me and my team on the deck have been traveling across the country to report on these forgotten cases. And in some instances, it's resulted in these cases being solved after decades. [28:53] Join me every Wednesday as we revive these stories one card at a time. Listen to the deck now. [29:00] wherever you get your podcasts.

[29:03] You mentioned that, you know, part of the reason you were so attached to the idea of him being a good guy is he was all that you had left. But I know all of this opening up has like brought up so much more than you expected. And you've even been asked to reconsider what you thought you knew about your mom's death. Is that right? [29:22] Yeah. [29:24] So, [29:25] It's hard. I've had people come to me and say, my aunt specifically, she came and she said basically that she thought that my father killed my mother with a morphine overdose. And what I know is real is that my mother died one day before her life insurance policy was about to lapse. [29:43] That is completely true. We have those records. And she did have she did have cancer. She was dying. Correct. The [29:52] The theory that your aunts have is just it was very convenient time and how quickly it happened. [29:57] Yes, exactly. She was dying of cancer, of lung cancer. She wanted to die at home with all of her children. And for those last few, I don't know if it was months or weeks, I'm really not sure. [30:09] You know, she was apparently afraid that he was overdosing her. But I don't know, my aunt's promised to show me these letters and I haven't seen them yet. So I'd really love to see them because I've told so many different things and I've been wrong in the past, obviously, and as much evidence as I can get, I'll take. So I'd love to see those letters before I... [30:32] jump to a conclusion. But again, it's very strong evidence to me about her dying one day before this life insurance policy. It seems very convenient.

[30:40] Do you think, how old were you and Alyssa when your mom passed away? [30:45] So I was four and Alyssa was nine. And nine was about the time that she went to her teacher, correct? [30:53] cracked. [30:54] Do you think the abuse started... [30:57] before or after your mom's passing or when she got sick? I don't know. I mean, it could have been before. There are documents that my mother took Alyssa... [31:06] to get examined for rape, I mean sexual misconduct, whatever. She had an exam done, essentially. And I believe it came back negative. [31:17] But so she obviously had some kind of suspicion. [31:20] Right. [31:21] Interesting. And did your mom have an autopsy done? [31:25] When you know when she passed or I mean, obviously she couldn't request it, but was one done? No, there wasn't. And that's extremely strange to me also, because my father is very much the person that wants to know why and how things happened. And he likes documentation and he had plans on suing the tobacco industry for leaving all these children. [31:43] know without a mother and he'd always talked about that so why wouldn't you go with this autopsy in hand that says cigarettes and lung cancer killed this woman [31:53] Do you know what investigative measures are being taken by police now? [31:59] Are they even considering prosecuting the case against your father? Because I know he's out now for his past crimes and living a normal life, right? [32:08] Yeah, I mean, he's a free man in downtown Phoenix, as far as I know. But at this point, the police are open to accepting leads and tips, but they are not actively investigating it. I am in the process of requesting my old detectives back because I've found some...

[32:24] some inconsistencies in the police story and so I'm trying to figure out what they're doing because it's [32:33] It's not in the way of prosecution. [32:36] And I was told one story, and now something else completely is happening. So it's kind of a tricky story with the police right now, but they are not pursuing prosecution in any way. And they just say that they need a body. [32:49] but they also won't search for this body. And they tell me to get media attention, and then they won't help in media attention. [32:55] So I think they just kind of want me to go away at this point. [32:58] but you're not going away. [33:00] No, never. [33:02] And I've made that quite clear. If what they're looking for is a body... [33:08] Did they say why they won't search for a body? [33:10] No. [33:11] They won't give me really any answers. I've asked if I can raise money to give them to search for a body and they said no. [33:20] Interesting. So... [33:22] What do you hope to gain from media attention to just put... [33:25] you know, like their feet to the fire? Because I know you have this petition, right? You want to talk about that a little bit? Yeah. So I have a petition for my father to be prosecuted for this crime, for him to go to trial. All I want is a fair trial. And right now my only chance is media attention. We have to get enough people to care about Alyssa because right now there's no pressure on them. The police won't listen and they don't care anymore. So they told me to get media and that's what I'm going to do

[33:55] this case for prosecution. They haven't even tried. [33:59] to present it to the district attorney's office. They just say that it's going to fail. But I need everybody to kind of scream that at them for them to listen because they won't listen to me. [34:08] How many signatures do you think you need to get their attention? [34:13] So right now I have about 40,000 signatures. And what's really, really sad is I saw the sister of another missing girl go to the district attorney's office with 40,000 signatures, paper signatures that she rallied for for weeks. She goes down there and they just don't blink an eye at it. They don't care. So my goal is 500,000, which sounds really ambitious, but I think it's a number that might start to get their attention. Is Octavia still investigating this? [34:43] I mean, she's got her podcast. We're going to give all that information at the end. So people definitely need to go listen. The story is... [34:50] twisted and there's so many details she has she has an interview multiple interviews with you interviews with elissa's friends interview an interview with your father that she finally got so that is a wealth of information that i think people need to check out but is she actively investigating or is it has it kind of even stalled for her because she feels like oh my gosh we have everything we need and now we need police to take it from here [35:13] Yeah, I mean, she's still continuing to put out episodes, but it's mostly people coming forward with new information. You know, she's requested every document that exists out there, so I think she's really exhausted the resources that are already existing. And she just continues to put out new episodes about things that come up.

[35:31] Do you think... I don't know the laws in... [35:34] Arizona, and I'm not sure if you do either, but would it change anything? [35:38] If someone were to come forward and say, you know, what he was doing to Alyssa, he did to me when I was underage. If somebody were to come forward with that, does that change anything? Or is it too late? If you know. No, I mean, I don't know the exact laws, but I think it would help get the ball rolling for sure. If other people came forward and said, no, he's done this to me also and he needs to pay. You know, people have to listen. You can't just let. [36:03] these things happen for years or to so many women. It's not right. Do you think there's anything that I missed? [36:13] in the questions that we went over that you think is important for people to know. [36:16] I mean, just that I need help and I can't do it alone. That's really all I want to stress. And I've been trying to do this for... [36:24] you know, years and years and years and [36:28] I need more than just my voice. [36:30] to get to the police. [36:42] Crime Junkies, Sarah needs your help. She is only one person fighting an uphill battle for her sister. Like I said in part one, if you had an hour of time to listen to both of these episodes, you owe it to Sarah to take two minutes to sign the petition to help get her sister justice.

[37:02] junkie podcast.com click on the episodes button and you will find the petition in the blog about Alyssa's episode. [37:10] This was not a story done for entertainment. Alyssa is missing. [37:14] We need our Crime Junkie family to band together and actually help when given the opportunity. And if you'd like to hear my interview with a real-life prosecutor, Carly Shoemaker from Iowa, you can go to patreon.com slash crimejunkie for that. She gives us insight into why she thinks the case hasn't been prosecuted so far and what she thinks it would take to bring this case to trial. When you sign up, you'll also get all of our bonus episodes. And if you need a little pick-me-up after this episode, [37:44] credits for our prepping of the month. This episode of Crime Junkie was researched, written, and hosted by me. All of our editing and sound production was done by David Flowers, [38:14] from Justin Daniel. Crime Junkie is an audio Chuck production. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?

[38:44] for Puppet of the Month. Yes. I've been waiting all month. So as you know, I was super, super, super excited about this one. And I told you, I was like, the next one will be this one as long as his mom emails me back. Yeah, you've been like telling me about this one and I have been waiting. Oh, I'm so excited. So today we are telling the story of the Puppet named Inyaki. Inyaki. [39:14] Right before we got on recording, you had to pull up pronouncenames.com. [39:21] Again... [39:21] And Iñaki's mom sent me that link. She was like, you're going to have trouble with this. Yeah. And the guy's like, Iñaki, Iñaki. Because it's a Basque name, which is super cool. So the main reason I've been really excited about this is because it is our first international prophet. Oh, my God. I'm like ready for this. [39:51] Segovia. And one morning, Inaki's mom was heading to work on the bus and she saw through the window a short-legged dog trying to reach something hanging from a garbage can. He was super dirty, looked hungry, and she felt pity for him. [40:10] And she got off on the next bus stop and went back to see if he was still there. I would so do that. Even though she was already late for work. And he was nowhere to be seen. And after a couple of minutes, she decided to just run for it and go back to work.

[40:29] hoping not to be late, but without a puppet. About a week later, she kind of ran into her co-worker and his girlfriend, and she was carrying the same dog that she had seen at the dumpster a couple days earlier. Is it like a very distinctive dog? How'd she know? [40:50] we'll get to that later but she just no when you know you know i get it you like look in their eyes and you know yeah right you know you know and it's not a super big city and she felt it was a huge coincidence that this girl was just carrying this dog she had just seen right right [41:06] and she asked where she had found him and she was like oh like I just adopted him from the shelter I'm taking him to my grandma her dog just passed away and she needed the company and Yaki's mom felt happy for the dog but kind of [41:22] sad because she wanted him so badly. The next week, she had the same shift as this girl's boyfriend, and she was like, hey, how's that dog doing? And the guy was like, well, Grandma returned Malachias, which was his name at the time, to the shelter because he had escaped from her house, and when he returned, hours later, he was super dirty, and his hair had all this dry tar and mud, and the Grandma [41:52] was like, I can't handle a dog who won't behave, and took him back. So Zimi, Nyaki's mom, after her shift, went straight to the shelter and was like, I am going to get this dog. So they were closed over her lunch break, but she was like, I'm going to hang out. We're going to do this. And...

[42:12] there was like a security guard there and [42:16] He was like, "Well, why are you here?" And she's like, "Well, I want this dog. I'm here to adopt." -To pick up my soulmate, duh. -Right, I'm here to adopt Malachias. And she kind of described him. And this is how she described him. He's kind of yellow-colored with coarse long hair. [42:32] has eyes like black marbles. And this is like a kicker for me. His lower teeth stick out. [42:40] from his mouth. Oh my God. And he has brown piggy-like ears. I cannot wait to see this guy. Oh, you're going to love it. I'm going to get ready to forward it to you. [42:52] And even though he's medium-sized, he has these super short, stunted legs that he looks... [42:57] small, you know? And so the security guard goes into the rescue and he's like, [43:03] There is no dog. [43:06] by this description. Excuse me? And she was like, gosh, like, really, like, I miss this dog once, I miss this dog twice, is there a chance that I actually miss this dog a third time? But she was there and she was like, you know what, I'm just gonna get a dog. Which is, like, girl... [43:23] I identify. Yeah. So she's like, I'll take anything. I'll take any dog you have. That's like very, I just love this so much. Just like, just give me a dog. I came here for a dog. I'm not walking out with a dog. You have to have one in there. Just, [43:36] Let's see what you got. And here is where she is so much one of us. She's like, I'm going to get a dog. I'm going to get a dog. I'm here. But I know if I go in, I'll cry. Oh, I can never go in. So.

[43:51] just bring me the ugliest dog you have oh that's what she said that's what she said um the one that no one would oh i love her and when the security guard came back you know who he had it was not him it was him it was not kaius and she recognized him immediately and even though they had buzzed him probably because of all the tar it was him when the workers at the shelter got back they confirmed [44:21] with all his long hair cut off and that the vet said he was around two years old and they drew up the adoption papers right there. Oh my god that is the most heartwarming. How long have they been together do you know? Okay so he was about two years old when she adopted him and Inaki which is his new name turned 18 this year. Stop it they've been together forever. Yeah and even though [44:51] her socks, which... [44:53] Zimi also noted that he then pooed. And he loves stealing food. He's very mature and independent and wise. Of course he is. And she eventually left Signovia. And obviously he went with. And since then, Zimi and her husband have fostered more than 20 cats and dogs. Even chickens. Inaki has been super supportive and kind to all of them.

[45:23] Even though he was kind of curious and annoyed towards cats. [45:27] And no one can tell he's 18 years old, even though he's deaf and has had two tumors move from his neck four years ago. Are you kidding me? Besides that, he's a lot of vitality. He loves running and looks super youthful. And Zimi wishes he would live 18 years more. And Zimi, so do we. He will. He will. He will. We have no proof that dogs aren't young. [45:53] eternal yeah they're immortal i've that's like i know this [45:58] I have to believe this. We've talked about this before. Okay, where are these freaking pictures? Okay, give me just a second. [46:05] So... [46:06] Inaki also has some rescue brothers and sisters. Dahlia, who is a French Basset Griffin. And Sete, I think. I can see his little two-fers from here. The English setter. And also some cats. Negu, Mog, and Toscana. And Mog especially loves cuddling with him. Where do they live now? It's beautiful. Oh my god. This picture of him in black and white with the tiefers? Oh, I know. He's got the best tiefers in the world. [46:36] That is like an emo picture. Oh my god. I love the one of him just like sitting on like the sidewalk with the rocks. No, there is one where it's like straight up sound of music. Oh, no, I see. Oh, isn't that the best? They're like on the hills. The hills are alive. The hills are effing alive with the sound of Inyaki. I love him and all of his siblings. I just snore him.

[47:00] Oh my God. He is so cute. She's totally right. He's got brown ear. Like his ears are very dark brown. The rest of it's very light. And he has like the little jaw. He has piggy ears. Like her description was spot on. Oh yeah. And look at him just tromps in on the beach. Are these pictures for real? Like where is this place? Like seriously, like I want to say she like faked these images because they're so beautiful. So they are currently in Yuskadi, which is Basque [47:30] Spain. Okay, well, I'm moving. [47:32] And I would like to also point out that even though Inyaki's mom, Zimi, has never been interested in true crime before, she's addicted to the podcast, binge-lessened in a week, and loves us both. So, Zimi, thank you so much for Inyaki's story. We loved it. I can't wait to show everyone Inyaki's adorableness because, again, when you sent the pictures, I lost my mind. [48:02] I mean, these are the most photogenic pictures. Yeah, again, Brit, post all of these on the website. [48:07] I love them. [48:09] And I'm moving to Spain, so we're going to have to, like, work out our new schedules to tape Crime Junkie. Okay, see you from Spain. See you from Spain. [48:22] Okay, Crime Junkies, you know I absolutely love a twist and a turn, especially when it comes to people who turn out to be someone they're not. That's why I have been obsessed with the podcast Chameleon.

[48:39] How did they get away with that? [48:40] It is truly one of my favorite podcasts right now and I've been listening for years. [48:44] I think you'll love it too. [48:45] Listen to Chameleon wherever you get your podcasts.