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Online vitriol turns deadly in Mountain City

June 19, 2021 / 01:34:58

This episode covers the double homicide of Bill Payne and Billie Jean Hayworth in Mountain City, Tennessee, and the subsequent investigation that led to the arrest of Jamie Kurd and the Potter family. Key discussions include the timeline of events leading up to the murders, the relationships between the victims and suspects, and the online feud that escalated into violence.

On January 31, 2012, Brad Osborne arrived at the Payne residence to pick up his friend Bill for work but found him and Billie Jean dead. The investigation revealed that both had been shot in the head, and their infant son was found unharmed. The police ruled out murder-suicide and began to explore the drug-related motives.

Jamie Kurd, a co-worker and cousin of Bill, became a person of interest after he failed a polygraph test. He later confessed to being involved in the murders, claiming he acted under the influence of Buddy Potter, who had a history of violence and claimed to have CIA connections.

The investigation uncovered a complex web of deceit involving Janelle Potter, who had manipulated her family into believing they were in danger from the victims. Emails and online communications revealed her role in orchestrating the murders, leading to charges against her and her mother, Barbara Potter.

In the end, Buddy Potter was convicted of first-degree murder, while Janelle and Barbara were also found guilty, highlighting the tragic consequences of online harassment and familial manipulation.

TLDR

The episode details the murders of Bill Payne and Billie Jean Hayworth, revealing a web of manipulation and deceit that led to their deaths.

Episode

1:34:58
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if you feel at any time you need support please contact your local crisis center
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for suggested phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app
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or on our website welcome to mountain city a friendly home town this message written in bold white text
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on a bright red sign greets travellers approaching the u.s town of mountain city
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in the northeast corner of tennessee as the local population has never peaked beyond 2600 people
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mountain city residents remain close-knit they live a slow pace to lifestyle among
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the mountains valleys and forests the summers are warm the winters are short cold and wet and
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it's partly cloudy all year round there is no public transport so everybody has a car and to that car
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he's more often than not a pickup truck most residents own a gun many people owned several
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at around 6 30 on the morning of january 31 2012 brad osborne was making his usual
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drive to pick up his friend and co-worker bill payne the two men worked at the parkdale mills
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textile plant and often carpooled to work bill was staying in his father's white
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single-story weatherboard house in mountain city he lived there with his partner billie
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jane hayworth and their infant son as well as bill's father billy ray payne better known around
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town as poor bill when brad osborne arrived at the payne house poor bill had already left for work
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about an hour earlier brad pulled into the driveway and remained in his car usually bill would emerge from the house
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when brad arrived they started work at 7am but the drive to the factory wasn't far
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the sun had yet to rise and the bride could see a light emanating from bill's bedroom window
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though there was no movement within brad tooted the horn and waited but bill didn't appear he tried calling bill's
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cell phone but was unable to get through minutes passed and brad became increasingly concerned about being late
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for work he got out of his car and walked over to the house to hurry his friend along
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knowing that it was rarely locked brad headed to a sliding glass door at the rear of the house when his knocks went
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unanswered brad let himself in an alarm clock was going off in one of the bedrooms
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brad picked up the landline in the living room and called bill's cell again but he couldn't hear it ring
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then brad heard something it sounded like the quiet whimper of a baby not feeling comfortable with going into
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the bedrooms where billie jean and her baby might be sleeping brad called out once more
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he was met with silence and took this as his cue to leave brad drove alone to the textile plant
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only to discover that bill was not there and did not turn up as the morning wore
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on later that morning at around 10 another visitor pulled up to the pain house roy stevens arrived to pick up his mail
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which had been sent to poor bill's place his wife linda stayed in the car while roy let himself in
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via the rear sliding glass door roy hollowed out sure that somebody must be home
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after receiving no response he ventured down the hallway towards the bedrooms as he approached the first room roy saw
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what looked like blood near the doorway [Music] roy opened the door into the bedroom
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bill shared with billie jean he spotted a 36 year old bill face up on the bed his face was badly beaten and blood
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coagulated around his neck roy rushed to bill grabbed his arms and shook him hoping to get a response when he got
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none he raced outside yelling for linda linda was trained in cpr she tried to find a pulse in bill's
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neck before realising that his throat had been cut as his wife called 9-1-1 roy heard
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something coming from another part of the house he made his way down the hallway to a
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second bedroom inside year old billy jane hayworth was lying in a pool of blood on the floor
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of her son's nursery tight in her arms was her baby boy he didn't stir his face was blotchy and
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red and blood caked his sleeper suit and the back of his head it was clear billie jean was deceased
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to roy's relief her baby was still breathing all of the blood around him belonged to
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his mother the baby himself was unhurt linda broke down as she described the condition of the little boy to the 911
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operator quote the baby kind of to me as a parent looks like maybe it's been crying for a
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while and probably cried till he can't cry no more both bill and billie jean had been shot
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in the head there were also deep slash wounds across bill's neck although it was unclear whether they
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were sustained pre or post-mortem neither victim had defensive wounds suggesting they had been taken by
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surprise with bill in his underwear and billie jean in pyjamas it appeared as though the couple had
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been confronted while they were still in bed or shortly after waking everything was normal when poor bill
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left for work at around 5 30. the pair were presumably dead by the time brad osborne had arrived to
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pick up bill an hour later tennessee bureau of investigation agent scott lott arrived on the scene there were several
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firearms at the residence but the shotguns and a 22-caliber pistol he located were not the murder weapons the bullets
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fired upon the victims had come from a 38 caliber or 9 millimeter handgun murder-suicide was swiftly ruled out
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the gun and knife used in the crime were missing nothing was found at the house that
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hinted at the perpetrators identity neighbours described bill payne and billie jane hayworth as a nice young
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couple they didn't hear anything suspicious the morning of the murders usually poor bill's dog would bark if
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strangers came to the house which made the investigators wonder was the killer someone known to the family
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perhaps even welcomed inside a search of the payne residents uncovered a small quantity of drugs
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including methamphetamine police also recovered a meth pipe and some prescription medication
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mountain city was going through a drug crisis at the time but nobody in the payne household was on
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the police radar as being part of any large-scale dealing billy gene's best friend a woman named
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lindsay thomas had been at the payne home the day before the murders billie jean mentioned receiving a fresh
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batch of pills for her and bill to sell the couple apparently carried out some low-level drug dealing to make extra
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cash to buy things for their baby lindsay wondered if a buyer was supposed to meet bill before he left for work
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and things turned deadly this seemed even more likely given that methamphetamine was not found in either
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of the victim's systems but was sitting out on a plate with a straw beside it as though
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someone had recently taken a hit bill's cell phone records showed the numbers of those who had called him
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prior to his death they led to two of his friends who admitted that they occasionally bought
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pills from him it was no major drug operation however bill sometimes sold or swapped his
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prescription medication with a small group of contacts his friends had intended to pick some up
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the night before he was killed but bill had sent them a text at 11 30 saying that he was tired
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and was not going to meet them the double homicide was the biggest incident johnson county had seen
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in a very long time everybody in mountain city knew the couple or members of their families
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theories abound especially online on local forums members of billie jean's family fronted
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the media and begged her killer to come forward her mother questioned how anyone could
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leave her infant grandson an orphan she explained how much billie jean and bill loved being parents
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adding i didn't know a soul that didn't like them [Music] jamie curd lived in a trailer at the end
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of a muddy driveway up a steep hill with its outdoor laundry tub and sofa on the porch
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it was a typical dwelling of those who were doing it toughest in johnson county jaime had dropped out of school to work
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at the parkdale mills textile plant where he labored through 12-hour shifts but he was able to work alongside his
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cousin bill payne the two were close despite their differences bill was popular and charismatic with
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lots of interests and hobbies he was a coin collector who enjoyed nascar trips to las vegas and had a
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reputation as a bit of a player he embraced life and had a tendency to blow his paycheck
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as soon as he got it jamie on the other hand was the sort of person that people didn't notice much if they did they
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thought him pleasant harmless and quiet a follower not a leader at 35 years old he had never had a
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proper girlfriend he also had a stammer as well as a condition that meant he needed to wear
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dark glasses all the time even inside in late 2009 billie jean hayworth was hired at the textile plant where jamie
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curd and bill payne worked the two billies clicked immediately they had many shared interests both
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being outdoorsy types who enjoyed fishing hiking camping and running they also liked to visit flea markets yard sales
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and auctions bill spoke of falling head over hills in love when billie jean discovered she was
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pregnant bill was overjoyed the future for the soon-to-be parents looked bright bill had had his share of run-ins with
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the law but cleaned himself up after meeting billie jean he drank less quit partying and had eyes only for her
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he enrolled in a clinic to kick his drug dependence and to the surprise of those who knew
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him even gave up smoking yet not everyone seemed happy for the young couple not long after they went public with
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their pregnancy anonymous nasty comments about the pair appeared online even billie jeans closest to france
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lindsey thomas and tara osborne were not immune to the criticism it started with someone calling himself
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matt potter matt vilified the three women on the mountain city topics forum a community news site that was
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incredibly popular in town someone named kelly weighed in and supported matt's accusations
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as did another user going by the name dan white together they accused the women of promiscuity spreading
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sexually transmitted diseases drug taking and a litany of other transgressions while calling them vile names
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others chimed in too the posts were vicious and disturbing one comment directed at billie jean
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ended [ __ ] them i hope they die die die and that baby and bill in the aftermath of bill and billie
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jean's murders several townsfolk name dropped to jaime kurd to investigators according to reports he recently had a
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falling out with his cousin jamie explained that this was because bill had been ranting at him about something posted
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online jamie said he wasn't on social media so he didn't know anything about it he also denied knowing anything about
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the murders yet the investigation kept circling back to jaime and he agreed to take a polygraph test
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although such tests are unreliable and inadmissible in court police find them useful in
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interrogations to discover how people act when lying the test told them that jamie was not being honest
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particularly when asked if he knew who killed bill and billie jean the interrogator told jaime his
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polygraph results and assured him we're not looking to crucify anybody we just want the truth we're looking for
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who pulled the trigger that's all are you the type of man who could shoot a woman
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probably begging for her life while her baby is in her arms jamie responded no appealing to jamie's better nature the
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interrogator told him how good he'd feel if he told the truth after about an hour and a half sensing
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that jamie was beginning to crack the interrogator pressed him who shot him who had the gun
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jamie responded he did they kept pushing [Music] stickers covering the back windshield of
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buddy potter's truck made it clear that he staunchly supported the second amendment
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as well as the national rifle association he owned many guns two of which he carried at all times
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one in a shoulder harness and one on his ankle sometimes he wore a holster around his
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hips old west to gunslinger style [Music] buddy was the nickname of local man marvin potter jr
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seven years earlier in 2004 the potter family consisting of marvin his wife barbara
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and their adult daughter janelle moved from pennsylvania to mountain city like many small towns most of the locals
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had lived there for generations and could be slow to warm to outsiders it didn't help that the potter family
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kept to themselves and quickly developed a reputation of being odd buddy potter told anyone who'd listen
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about his military history including his experiences fighting in the vietnam war
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he spoke of being confined in a prisoner of war camp and rescuing fellow injured marines
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for this he was awarded the navy cross medal the second highest military award for
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valor he added it to his three silver stars bronze star medal purple heart medal airborne wings and
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scuba badge he proudly displayed photographs of himself in uniform with all his decorations
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after attending jump diving survival and recon schools he said he was assigned to marine force
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reconnaissance a special operations force tasked with military intelligence missions
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he then worked with the central intelligence agency which handled national security
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everything that happened there was classified he couldn't and wouldn't talk about it
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to anybody jamie kurd became known to buddy when the potter family computer started
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having issues jamie had a reputation as a computer tinkerer who could fix basic tech issues and was quick to offer
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the potters his assistants upon arriving at their house he was taken to the troublesome device
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it was located in a common area of the home where it was primarily used by everyone but buddy who seemed to have no
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interest in it jamie returned to the potter house several times to clean up and reformat
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their hard drive buddy and barbara potter accepted his help and tolerated him being around
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despite not liking him that much one day barbara potter noticed her daughter in possession of a prepaid cell
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phone she had never seen before while examining it barbara discovered it contained messages
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from jamie kurt he had supplied it to janelle so they could speak in private with an iq of 72 27 year old janelle
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functioned at around a fourth grade level her entire school life was spent in special education
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and by the time she graduated janelle didn't have the skills to get or hold on to a job or drive a car
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with a slew of health problems including type 1 diabetes and partial deafness she was put onto a social security
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disability payment and lived with her parents who took care of all her needs as such both buddy and barbara were
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highly protective of janelle and were displeased that jamie with his drinking and drug taking habits
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was showing interest in their naive and vulnerable daughter upon realising that jamie curd had been
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covertly pursuing her daughter barbara potter texted that she was on to him and confiscated the phone he had
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given janelle she had no idea that jaime supplied janelle with another then in february 2010 the police called
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the potters after finding janelle wandering the dark streets alone she was under the impression that she
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was going to elope with the jaime that night which was his birthday jamie however
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had spent the evening drinking and had passed out the next morning buddy potter called
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jamie and thundered down the line for him to stay away from his daughter when he was interrogated in relation to
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the murders of bill payne and billie jean hayworth jaime implicated buddy potter
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he then asked a bizarre question is the c.i.a here when asked for the meaning behind his
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strange query jaime explained it was because buddy potter had told him he was with the c.i.a
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he remarked i was hoping the c.i.a had my back jamie told investigators he participated in the murders because he
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was afraid of buddy he never wanted to kill anyone and hadn't done anything violent before
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he said he felt horrible bill was like a brother to him agent lot asked to jaime to call buddy
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and ask what happened to the gun and knife used in the murders barbara potter answered the phone and
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spoke with the jaime for a few minutes she was aware that jaime had been arrested
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and asked if he had taken a lie detector test and whether he had passed it he said yes to both questions
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when buddy came to the phone jamie muttered well they're pointing fingers buddy responded oh jiminy christmas
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buddy told jaime there was no reason for anyone to suspect him because the homicides looked like a drug
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deal gone bad as instructed by the cops jamie asked you got rid of everything that was from
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bills right uh-huh buddy responded it wasn't quite a confession but it was enough
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police descended on the potter residence and arrested buddy who was armed even at 3 30 am
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officers then moved through the house searching for evidence at one stage barbara potter who had been
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sitting on a couch in the living room beside her daughter reached over picked up a stack of papers
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and ripped them in half all this did was bring attention to the documents barbara was ordered to hand them over
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they consisted of printed email correspondence and included candid photos of billie
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jane hayworth and her best friend lindsay thomas the images had been taken from the
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women's social media pages the emails had subject lines like billy [ __ ] for billie jean and pant face for
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lindsay this wasn't the only interesting paper detectives found in the back of buddy's truck were three
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large garbage bags full of shredded paper bundled up ready to be disposed of officers seized the potter's computer an
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external hard drive and a green spiral notebook next to the monitor they also took what detectives would
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later call an arsenal 32 firearms including rifles semi-automatics handguns an ak-47
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and shotguns along with a huge supply of ammunition the gun used against bill payne and
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billie jane hayworth was not among them buddy potter was led into the same interrogation room
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jamie curt had sat in earlier he was asked you know why you're here right buddy responded
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someone's told you that i'm the one that killed somebody the potters had made a big impression on
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mountain city in the short amount of time they had resided there when inquiries were underway into the
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murders of bill payne and billie jean hayworth the potter name kept cropping up enough to put the family on agent lot's
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priority list he paid them a visit when agent lot told the potters that he was investigating a double homicide
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buddy responded everybody always points the finger at us for something it was no secret that the potter family
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had severe grievances with other townsfolk bill payne and billie jane hayworth especially
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that conflict had arisen from an online dispute that had turned intensely vitriolic
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buddy admitted to visiting the paint house many times in relation to the feud though denied involvement in the murders
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agent lot asked if the potters knew of anybody who would want to hurt the victims
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they didn't but janelle spoke of a party at the paint house that had made her uncomfortable there had been drinking
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and a drug use weapons including an ak-47 were present as she didn't want to involve herself in
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that lifestyle janelle didn't attend any more parties she quickly fell out with the two
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billies and their circle of friends typical of the town news of the broken friendship became a hot topic
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online particularly on topics where users took sides despite having no involvement in the dispute
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some defended janelle noting her sweet nature and innocent mindset they ordered the
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other women to leave her alone others stood by bill and billie jean and their friends
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the online bickering mostly fueled by random community members or anonymous posters
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only served to increase hostilities between the ex-friends jenelle's social media accounts were
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hacked and fake pages had been created using her photo her father had to deal with baseless
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accusations of being a drug dealer efforts to quash the animosity were futile against the aggressive
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cruel and degrading comments shared online the potter family accused billie jane
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hayworth and her friends of instigating continuing and amplifying the harassment
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but felt bill payne was also a driving factor janelle explained that bill was always
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trying to push someone's buttons and that anyone who came into contact with the couple
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had trouble with them barbara potter informs agent lot that sugar had been poured into the potter's
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gas tanks that buddy's truck was scratched their garage door was broken and the rocks were thrown at their house
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and janelle's bedroom window despite all the issues they had with the victims buddy assured agent lot that he would
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never wish murder upon anybody following buddy potter's arrest he was asked whether he
00:30:50
was a cold-hearted killer or his family's protector but he responded i'm a protector of my
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family to start with but i did not do this he was told that jaime kurd had already
00:31:07
implicated him in the murders to which buddy replied he's throwing me under the bus
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as the hours wore on buddy became emotional he revealed the extent of the harassment
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his family had received since their issues arose with bill and billie jean he said there was a 3
00:31:31
000 bounty on each member of his family adding ever since all this crap started i've
00:31:39
had my life threatened my wife has been threatened they've threatened to take janelle
00:31:44
cut her head off catch her in a restroom and murder her rape her because she's a virgin and just
00:31:52
so much [ __ ] buddy broke down and started sobbing he was then asked do janelle and barbara
00:32:03
know what you did he responded with a firm no after the interview buddy called his
00:32:13
wife their conversation was covertly recorded buddy opened with barbara before you find out from
00:32:24
somebody else i want you to know i was involved in it i did it i didn't want you to be afraid
00:32:32
no more rather than sound shocked barbara responded calmly that he could not have committed the
00:32:40
murders because he was at home with her the whole time buddy told barbara i love you
00:32:50
i did it to protect you but barbara wasn't having it she said you're not guilty because you were here you have to say
00:33:02
that you were here i saw you you haven't had no rest and you don't have your oxygen
00:33:10
you're not yourself right now before concluding the call barbara repeated don't worry honey you were right here
00:33:23
i saw you right here detectives were mystified was this a loving wife trying to provide an alibi
00:33:34
for her husband or was buddy potter innocent [Music] barbara potter would later criticize the
00:33:45
police for interviewing buddy for hours without allowing him access to the oxygen that he needed to function
00:33:52
properly she accused them of coercing a confession because when denied oxygen her husband
00:34:00
often said strange and untrue things a doctor later stated that while buddy's history of hypoxia could have
00:34:08
contributed to an impaired state of mind there were no known cases of hypoxia causing a patient to lie
00:34:18
both buddy potter and jamie kurd were charged with first degree murder with bonds set at 1.5 million dollars
00:34:26
each neither made bail the investigation then took a massive hit when jaime suddenly recanted his confession
00:34:37
regardless detectives remained certain that jaime and buddy carried out the murders
00:34:43
and worked quickly on gathering evidence to prove it one agent was tasked with piecing
00:34:50
together the paper in the garbage bags found in buddy's truck shred by shred it was a painstaking slow
00:34:58
process but it was believed that they held a key that would break open the case the agent did an astonishing job she
00:35:10
managed to reconstruct around 100 pages they proved to be both enlightening and confounding
00:35:20
many of them were printouts of online correspondence between barbara potter and a mysterious man named chris
00:35:29
the message is dated from 2011 to 2012. barbara referred to chris as son and signed messages to him
00:35:39
as mum in turn he ended his with i love you all your son chris the police were not aware of the potters
00:35:52
having a son barbara mostly spoke to chris about the harassment her family had received
00:35:59
following their move to mountain city they shared a mutual hatred for bill payne billie jane hayworth
00:36:06
and billie jane's friends for fueling their ongoing grief many of the messages included some sort
00:36:13
of threat or desire for violence harm or death to the group barbara and chris were particularly
00:36:21
worried for janelle who bore the brunt of the group's maliciousness chris referred to her as his little
00:36:29
sister as he had known her since high school reading these messages agent lot felt
00:36:37
that the potter's computer would hold more clues fortunately the green spiral notebook
00:36:44
seized from the potter's home contained a list of usernames and passwords to the family's social media
00:36:50
and email accounts but as they suspected that many of the communications there might have been
00:36:57
deleted investigators also obtained subpoenas for records from the family's email
00:37:03
and internet providers [Music] agent lot received a dvd containing over 20 000 emails
00:37:14
something stood out among them in mid-january barbara had sent herself two links can god forgive a murderer
00:37:24
and questions about forgiveness and murder why would barbara be wondering about whether god could forgive murderers
00:37:34
two weeks before bill and billie jean were killed it was important for investigators to
00:37:46
uncover who the mysterious chris was that barbara messaged daily one year before the murders chris
00:37:55
emailed barbara for the first time writing hi barbara how are you i hope you are well yes
00:38:04
this is chris aka cody i'm so sorry to hear all of that is going on i wish there was a way to help you all
00:38:15
he revealed that he had been on the mountain city topics forum and had seen the disdain towards the
00:38:21
potters he admitted to commenting on the pages in their defense as the site administrators were doing
00:38:29
nothing about the toxicity he assured barbara he had taken care of it but rather than stop things escalated
00:38:42
one day janelle showed her mother an email she had received from billie jean's friend
00:38:47
lindsay thomas it read your ass is mine you're a [ __ ] [ __ ] remember that i can get you and will
00:38:58
your daddy can't do [ __ ] to me i'm above the law dumb [ __ ] [ __ ] following this the potters became
00:39:08
regular visitors to the local police station where they lodged complaints about those
00:39:13
targeting janelle police were also called to the potter residence after a rock had been thrown
00:39:19
at the house it had billy payne written on one side billie jean on another and the quote
00:39:28
i'm your huckleberry the police didn't take the feud seriously and nothing was done to
00:39:36
placate the potters when barbara expressed her irritation at the lack of police action to chris
00:39:44
via email he called johnson county law enforcement dumb and untrustworthy he knew the names of many local officers
00:39:54
and deemed them incompetent and ineffective chris promised barbara that if anyone
00:40:01
harmed janelle that he would do what he was trained to do it was clear from the pair's discussions
00:40:10
that chris worked for the cia and through this had connections to buddy potter he mentioned shooting people in the line
00:40:19
of duty and claimed he had gotten rid of people in russia and in new york he told barbara
00:40:28
i knew what was our saw them so i had to kill but i love to shoot now and killing does
00:40:35
not bother me at barbara let him know as long as you are doing the right thing for mankind
00:40:43
then you will not be judged badly you are helping others by getting rid of the bad
00:40:51
chris expressed the desire to kill the mountain city residents that had caused the potter's grief
00:40:58
including johnson county sheriff mike reese for his inaction however there were always reasons he
00:41:05
couldn't carry out the slayings himself he guaranteed that if buddy took matters
00:41:11
into his own hands he would be protected by the cia this encouraged barbara into thinking
00:41:21
that violent action should be taken against her foes as her family would be safe from
00:41:26
repercussions she badgered chris to talk to his superiors to have buddy's cia identification reissued so that he could
00:41:37
get access to cia guns barbara explained that buddy was fed up and ready and although a very patient man
00:41:47
had been pushed too hard for too long as buddy didn't use a computer barbara would print out any important
00:41:56
information from chris pass it on then destroy the paper one day buddy was handed yet another
00:42:06
printout of an email from chris he had written that if buddy decided to do anything
00:42:13
he should get bill payne first because quote he's really mean and an [ __ ] the emails confused investigators
00:42:27
on the one hand they were certain that chris was not a law enforcement operative
00:42:33
it was extremely unlikely a cia agent would write things like i'm going to run into [ __ ] slut-face
00:42:41
ugly as a mud-faced [ __ ] and her [ __ ] of a boyfriend [Music] all would take an interest in such an
00:42:48
ordinary family as the potters and the petty internet drama that surrounded them
00:42:55
the whole scenario seemed off however chris was a very real person janelle potter's introduction on her
00:43:06
online myspace page included the paragraph then i have chris i have known him for a very long
00:43:15
long time he's a cop in pennsylvania he's a good guy and a true friend and almost like a
00:43:23
brother to me and married to a wonderful girl named megan i wish nothing but the best for you both
00:43:32
investigators were able to find photos of chris his dog and his friends among the
00:43:38
potter's emails one from barbara's account had the subject line pick of chris our son and contained a
00:43:48
text that read this is chris jayden back at youth camp with janelle age 18 or so it was accompanied with a
00:43:58
blurry photograph of two people wearing what appeared to be military fatigues in one of her private facebook messages
00:44:09
barbara had written to a friend that chris jaden had helped janelle fight bullies in school
00:44:16
barbara called chris her adopted son and said that the family loved him but didn't get to see him often enough
00:44:25
so if chris jayden really existed just how involved was he in the murders of bill payne
00:44:32
and billie jane hayworth investigators wanted answers it was time to contact the man himself
00:44:41
and find out what was going on [Music] christopher jaden was a certified constable in delaware
00:44:51
and had previously worked for the city's police department he revealed that he had attended high
00:44:58
school with janelle potter but his recollections didn't align with him seeing her
00:45:04
as a sister he recalled janelle as being very strange she was known to throw tantrums have problems with classmates
00:45:14
and get in trouble a lot like most people chris kept his distance he had two classes with janelle and
00:45:24
spoke to her occasionally but they weren't part of the same friendship group if he was nice to her she would
00:45:32
sometimes hang around but he would extricate himself politely that was the extent of their
00:45:40
interactions she once sent him a friend request on facebook but he declined it chris had not had contact with janelle
00:45:51
since graduating from high school in 2000 he had never met any of the other potters or anyone else
00:45:58
from mountain city this raised the question why would barbara potter call a man she had
00:46:06
never met her son although he worked in law enforcement chris had never served in the cia
00:46:17
chris looked at the photographs of him in the potter's possession some were old profile pictures that had
00:46:23
been lifted from his social media accounts he didn't recognise the rest some were of men who looked like him or
00:46:33
blurry photos in which the man featured could pass as him he had never sent the family or anyone else
00:46:41
involved with the potters pictures of himself it didn't take long for agent lot to
00:46:49
rule out the real life chris jaden as having any part to play in the payne hayworth
00:46:55
murders the revelation didn't come as a surprise though and only served to confirm suspicions
00:47:05
the email that the phony chris sent his messages from gave a very good indication as to his
00:47:12
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like so many socially awkward young people the internet was janelle potter's lifeline
00:54:10
in one post she wrote of her move to tennessee i love the friends that i have down here
00:54:16
they are sweet and wonderful people in truth janelle had been struggling to build any
00:54:23
authentic and reciprocal relationships since arriving in mountain city the locals were uncomfortable by her
00:54:31
lack of social awareness and the way she acted overly familiar with them sometimes she went in for an unwelcome
00:54:38
hug she towered over other women standing at over six feet tall but had a high pitched child-like voice
00:54:46
that didn't align with her large frame that didn't stop janelle from adding everyone she knew
00:54:54
as well as people she didn't to her facebook page online she described herself as a loving
00:55:01
and caring person who had been told she was too nice and so sweet but she conceded
00:55:09
i do take things to heart and to let things get to me i try not to but it's very hard
00:55:18
this was abundantly clear when she met bill payne billie jane hayworth and her friends
00:55:24
initially things were cordial between them but when jenelle started bombarding her
00:55:30
newfound friends with messages they were quickly fed up even if they appeared offline
00:55:37
janelle still flooded their inboxes when her messages went unread she would call and
00:55:43
text them this intensity was off-putting and as a result they all unfriended janelle on facebook
00:55:54
this would seem like a petty dispute that would quickly become a non-drama once those involved went their separate
00:56:01
ways however janelle's lack of maturity ensured she took it very seriously she vented on social media and the
00:56:11
dispute caused quite the reaction on the mountain city topics forum she relished in her newfound victim
00:56:19
status though many townsfolk noticed that what they were witnessing didn't match the potter's version of
00:56:26
events in real life billie jean and her friends lindsey thomas and tara osborne faced upwards of 20 calls a
00:56:36
day from the potter's home phone number when they'd answer janelle would either breathe
00:56:42
or scream down the line they were forced to take their phones off the hook just for a reprieve lindsay thomas filed
00:56:50
a phone harassment charge against janelle her affidavit stating this all started
00:56:57
because i deleted her off my facebook however the case was dismissed as lindsay was not able to satisfy the
00:57:05
burden of proof beyond the reasonable doubt that the calls were coming from janelle to buddy and barbara potter
00:57:14
the court result proved their daughter was the innocent party and her tormentors were liars
00:57:24
janelle vehemently denied harassing any of her former friends whom she took to referring as the mean
00:57:31
girls she maintained that she was the victim with the harassment also occurring offline and embroiling
00:57:38
her entire family she shared copies of messages allegedly sent to her by her aggressors
00:57:46
to her parents one warned bill is going to kill you he has said that and i hope he does none of us want you
00:57:56
around nor living you're a waste of air and time on everyone you are nothing janelle informed the mean girls that she
00:58:07
had spoken to the police and that quote they know that i'm not doing a thing it was true that the potters had visited
00:58:16
the police station to report the mean girls they spoke of living in fear convinced
00:58:23
that there were many people in town who would harm jenelle their accused told a different story
00:58:31
they claimed that janelle was harassing them and denied authoring the threatening messages she said she
00:58:37
received from them sheriff mike reese didn't know how to respond when buddy potter made a formal
00:58:45
complaint about locals unfriending his daughter on facebook the sheriff just told him that
00:58:52
unfriending someone was not illegal when a rock was thrown at the potter's house with bill payne and billy jane
00:59:00
hayworth's names written on it police were skeptical despite buddy and barbara's genuine fear that their
00:59:08
daughter was in danger the police didn't believe that vandals would sign their names on evidence of
00:59:14
their crime things continued to escalate but mostly from the potter's side one afternoon in mid-2011 janelle and
00:59:25
her mother confronted billie jean at a gas station they screamed at her that she was quote
00:59:32
white trash who did not deserve to be a mother billie jean told a concerned onlooker
00:59:41
this won't stop they follow me everywhere they're constantly threatening me while visiting a grocery store buddy
00:59:50
potter told a staff member that if he had a chance he was going to put a bullet through
00:59:56
bill payne's head throughout the duration of the feud barbara potter was communicating with
01:00:04
long-time family friend and cia agent chris the pair went back and forth sharing
01:00:11
their hatred of janelle's rivals while compelling each other to do something drastic about it
01:00:18
barbara had never met chris in real life but knew him well enough through janelle to
01:00:23
consider him a son she didn't find it at all suspicious that all the communications she received
01:00:31
from chris were coming from her daughter's personal email chris said this was to ensure his cia
01:00:39
credentials wouldn't be compromised barbara accepted this explanation when jamie curd first met janelle potter
01:00:53
it was an unremarkable experience the pair had been set up in part by jamie's cousin bill payne
01:01:02
since she had met bill through mutual friends many suspected that janelle had a crush
01:01:08
on him he kept things platonic both the jamie and janelle were mountain city's lonely misfits and
01:01:16
bill thought they'd make a good match instead despite a lackluster introduction janelle
01:01:24
asked for jamie's phone number and a relationship quickly blossomed janelle called jamie often but the calls
01:01:32
were no more than 45 seconds they had to be brief because she didn't want her parents to know they were
01:01:38
talking buddy and barbara potter didn't like jaime they felt he was beneath them and a bad
01:01:47
influence while jaime wanted to prove himself worthy it was the first time he had a
01:01:54
girlfriend so he respected janelle's desire to keep things secret [Music] when janelle mentioned she was having
01:02:02
computer problems jamie saw an opportunity to get inside the potter residence to see her
01:02:09
when buddy and barbara deduced that jaime had feelings for their daughter they were not pleased he wasn't good
01:02:17
enough for their beloved janelle and they would never permit the pair to date jaime purchased janella's cell phone so
01:02:25
they could speak behind her parents back when barbara discovered this phone jaime
01:02:32
got janelle another after five or six months jamie and janelle began to talk about eloping
01:02:42
janelle snuck out of her home one night to wed jaime but he got drunk and failed to meet up
01:02:48
with her buddy was furious when he learned of what the pair had planned and chewed jamie out over the phone
01:02:56
saying that his daughter didn't love him he then passed the phone to janelle who confirmed what her father had said
01:03:06
although jaime agreed to stop talking to janelle she called him days later she said she
01:03:13
loved him and wanted to keep their secret relationship going they went back to their old ways
01:03:23
when jamie's mother passed away in may 2011 he received a call from barbara potter
01:03:30
expressing her condolences jaime was his mother's caregiver and the loss hit him hard
01:03:38
for the first time barbara showed jaime compassion and told him to call her if he ever
01:03:44
needed anything she also invited him around for dinner the potters continued to show jaime
01:03:53
kindness hosting him on holidays and allowing him to visit it had taken years but jamie curd had
01:04:01
finally been accepted by buddy and barbara potter buddy took him out shooting and barbara
01:04:10
treated him to homemade cake though things were never at the point where jaime could openly date janelle
01:04:18
he never pressed the matter in fear they would shun him again and he wouldn't be able to see janelle
01:04:24
at all his desire to see her ensured he remained loyal to the family and did everything
01:04:31
they asked barbara and janelle brought jamie up to speed on the hassles they were having with the mean girls
01:04:41
they believed they were targeting janelle due to jealousy over how pretty she was
01:04:48
jaime wasn't on facebook and didn't care much for social media so janelle forwarded him the threatening
01:04:54
messages her enemies sent her jaime was shocked at the nasty abuse being hurled at janelle
01:05:02
especially as janelle was such an innocent and gentle person he was still working with bill but
01:05:10
tensions were rising between the two jamie was deeply in love with janelle and took the potter's side of the feud
01:05:18
against his cousin it got bad enough that their employer had to assign them to different chefs
01:05:28
now that she had accepted him as a family friend barbara began to write long rambling
01:05:34
emails to jamie they were always about how her family was being targeted for attack
01:05:42
the emails sometimes ran over 10 pages long jamie began visiting the potter residence more frequently
01:05:55
each time barbara would have monopolised the conversation with rants about the mean girls janelle
01:06:02
remained silent during these discussions jamie noted that when she spoke to him on the phone
01:06:10
janelle was opinionated but around her parents she acted needy and childlike barbara characterized the feud as like a
01:06:21
war janelle had often come home in tears with tales of plots to harm kidnap and rape her and to hurt her
01:06:30
family barbara demanded to know what jamie and buddy were going to do about it despite buddy being the armed to the
01:06:43
teeth ex-cia agent jamie was more afraid of barbara he would walk on eggshells around her in
01:06:51
fear his house visits would be revoked he listened to her tirades and nodded and agreed
01:06:59
hoping it would earn him an invitation to dinner or even a family outing soon jaime began receiving emails from
01:07:10
chris he expressed concern that janelle would be hospitalized due to the stress and feared she was suicidal
01:07:20
jamie responded i think that if it wasn't for us she might have thought about it i can
01:07:28
tell she has just taken all she can take from those [ __ ] they won't let up and they're crazy
01:07:35
hell i don't know why they have to do this jamie was led to believe he too was in
01:07:44
grave danger chris warned him that the cia had since discovered that billie jean
01:07:51
was urging bill to kill jamie because he sided with the potters should jaime defend himself
01:07:59
chris assured him i've got your back jamie like barbara and buddy never questioned why
01:08:09
all the correspondence he had with chris was through accounts owned by janelle when janelle let it slip to jaime that
01:08:22
she was going to have to start calling lindsay thomas again she got real defensive and wouldn't say
01:08:29
anything else about it the remark fell by the wayside and no one pressed her for the truth of the
01:08:36
matter by then the potters had reached breaking point barbara wrote to jaime they are trying
01:08:46
to kill janelle little by little but doc says that at this rate it could happen any time with a heart attack or stroke
01:08:55
the stress has to stop she said the attacks would not end until we're all dead or gone and that chris
01:09:05
had told her the cops are behind billie jean more than anyone bill payne was sick of
01:09:14
the drama he continued to try and smooth things over with the potters he told them that janelle was lying to
01:09:23
them as well as the rest of the world but they were having none of it leave us alone barbara yelled at bill
01:09:32
if you call here again i'm going to do something about it as barbara chris buddy and jamie talked
01:09:42
about what needed to be done it became clear that there was only one solution the group believed janelle's tormentors
01:09:51
were never going to stop unless they were made to stop it was getting late on january 30 2012
01:10:04
when jaime kurd's phone rang it was barbara potter she had a bill that needed to be paid
01:10:12
online by midnight and claimed her computer was locking up and preventing her from doing so
01:10:20
jaime headed to the potter house to help out buddy entered the computer room while
01:10:26
jaime was in there alone he wanted jaime to do him a favor buddy asked to jaime to take him down
01:10:36
next to poor bill's house let him out go down the road and come back and pick him up
01:10:44
he didn't say when but jaime agreed not long after jaime got back home janelle called him to tell him
01:10:54
but he needed his help to do something he then got a text message from janelle that read
01:11:02
i would not take your cell phone with you in the morning jamie replied i'm not going to
01:11:12
the text message is finished with janelle writing i love you my husband in the early hours of the following
01:11:23
morning jamie's home phone rang it stopped before he could reach it the caller id showed that the call had
01:11:32
come from the potter residence he tried to call back but there was no answer it was 4 25 am but janelle was awake
01:11:45
she sent jamie a text instructing him to call back but he answered and asked if jaime could
01:11:53
do that favor for him that morning jaime agreed and moments later janelle sent him
01:12:01
several messages in rapid succession saying her father was leaving and telling jaime to text as soon as he
01:12:09
got back the sun hadn't yet risen when buddy's black ford f-250 pulled up jamie left his cell behind as janelle
01:12:21
had instructed and climbed into the vehicle the two men drove to a parking lot across a field
01:12:29
from poor bill's house they waited until they saw the headlights of a pickup truck cut through
01:12:36
the darkness signifying that poor bill had left for work buddy motioned for jamie to follow him
01:12:46
and started across the field on foot they hid behind a shed out the back of the house
01:12:53
where jaime told buddy that if bill saw them all hell's gonna break loose buddy handed jamie a gun while keeping
01:13:03
another for himself jaime looked down at the weapon a chill running down his spine
01:13:12
i couldn't kill no one he told the older man buddy responded that he just needed
01:13:20
jaime to stand at that door jamie had never seen buddy like this before it was as if his cia training had kicked
01:13:31
in and he was a man on a mission the pair entered through the rear sliding glass door
01:13:39
which was as usual unlocked jaime stood guard as ordered while buddy strode down the hallway and entered the
01:13:48
first bedroom jamie heard his cousin utter the last words he would ever say what the hell billie jean
01:13:59
fled from the room as a gunshot rang out moments later buddy emerged and looked at jamie
01:14:08
jamie pointed down the hallway where billie jean had run to buddy took off in that direction
01:14:17
jamie left his post to look inside the first bedroom and saw his cousin lying on the bed
01:14:24
blood pooling around him when jamie heard another gunshot he ran from the house back to buddy's
01:14:32
truck buddy was not far behind jamie returned his gun to him before buddy dropped him off at the end of his
01:14:42
driveway where jaime promptly threw up a short while later jamie received a text
01:14:51
from cia agent chris that said the problem was over a year and a half after the murders of
01:15:03
bill payne and billie jean hayworth agent scott lot arrived at johnston memorial hospital in virginia
01:15:11
barbara potter was inside she was looking after daughter janelle who had been hospitalized for one of her
01:15:19
many ailments officers charged barbara with two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree
01:15:28
murder in a twist that many saw coming janelle was charged with the same offences
01:15:38
despite jaime kurd and buddy and barbara potter playing a part investigators had little doubt that
01:15:45
jenelle potter was the mastermind behind the double homicide catfishing refers to a form of deception
01:15:55
wherein a person creates a fake persona online in order to form a relationship with
01:16:01
another person motivations vary and include financial gain to compromise or upset the victim in
01:16:09
some way or wish fulfillment usually the catfisher doesn't know the person they are fooling
01:16:16
outside the internet other times it is someone well known to the clueless victim
01:16:26
when they spoke of cia agent chris jamie barbara and buddy did so believing he was
01:16:34
a very real person who was exactly as he portrayed himself to be the trio trusted chris certain he was an
01:16:43
old friend of janelle's despite never having met him themselves the chris they knew however was a
01:16:52
catfish several factors could have contributed to them not seeing through the deception whether it was
01:17:02
their level of education their naivety their inability to think critically or just tunnel vision with the feud at
01:17:10
no point did anyone who spoke online with chris ever question his identity no one noticed that chris's spelling
01:17:20
grammar and punctuation was similar to someone they spoke to daily for years there were some
01:17:28
differences chris would rant and curse and wish pain and death janelle on the other hand hated cursing
01:17:36
and her writing was always sweet and loving with no threats of violence yet it was clear as day to investigators
01:17:45
examining the pages upon pages of communications published by chris he was janelle potter
01:17:55
janelle had invented the online persona of chris masquerading as him she was able to
01:18:02
manipulate her mother to convince her gullible father and boyfriend to murder her enemies
01:18:09
as chris jenelle pressured her parents to act chris wrote to barbara that bill payne
01:18:17
was spreading rumors that buddy was involved in drug dealing and had plans to kill janelle
01:18:24
others including janelle's foes failed to convince the potters that their daughter was lying about what was really
01:18:31
going on bill payne once provided buddy potter a two-inch thick folder of documents that proved janelle
01:18:40
was the aggressor janelle's social media had never been hacked and that there was no bounty on the
01:18:48
potter's heads bill even tried to impress upon jaime that janelle was behind many of the usernames fueling the online
01:18:57
hostilities he even doubted that chris was a real person despite this jaime barbara and buddy
01:19:08
wouldn't allow themselves to think of janelle as anything else but an innocent and sweet person
01:19:17
it took almost a year but janelle's incessant emails and messages had the intended effect her mother
01:19:26
father and boyfriend were all willing to kill for her and they did she had washed her hands of her
01:19:36
involvement there was plenty of evidence of chris explicitly expressing a desire to kill
01:19:42
janelle's rivals but there was no evidence of her ever making such requests but her deception didn't stop there
01:19:53
she also authored many of the abusive social media messages and emails she claimed were from her
01:19:59
harassers janelle was nothing if not prolific in her writing she orchestrated an intricate web of
01:20:07
deceit to paint herself as a victim and elicit sympathy most other people who observed the
01:20:15
online bickering noticed the patterns in the posts by those who jumped in to defend
01:20:20
janelle and it was obvious they were all one person it was only after he had committed murder for the
01:20:28
woman he loved that jaime was embarrassed and ashamed to admit that he had been played
01:20:36
he wondered if jenelle had ever loved him at all or if she simply saw him as a means to
01:20:42
get what she wanted buddy potter was tried alone in october 2013. the prosecution described him as someone
01:20:57
who was cold enough calculating enough and trained enough to be able to conduct murders like that
01:21:04
before saying at least he thinks he is he likes to tell people he's that kind of person
01:21:12
he likes for his family to think he's that kind of person the truth was that buddy potter was
01:21:20
never a part of the cia though he managed to convince his family otherwise he also lied about being in the military
01:21:31
the potters had left their previous town in shame after buddy was convicted of stolen
01:21:37
valor although dozens of firearms had been seized from the potter household the gun used to kill the victims hadn't
01:21:47
been found however an expert testified that loose unspent rounds found in buddy's truck
01:21:56
matched the rounds found at the crime scene the jury also got to listen to recorded
01:22:02
phone calls between buddy and barbara including one in which barbara said i got rid of it all i got rid of the
01:22:11
junk after three hours of deliberating the jury found marvin buddy potter jr guilty of
01:22:20
two counts of murder in the first degree buddy remained stoic as the verdict was
01:22:27
read just as he had been throughout the trial as tennessee law requires a murder one
01:22:35
conviction to automatically carry one life sentence per count buddy would have to serve
01:22:41
two life sentences afterwards the prosecution queried the jurors about what they thought of the
01:22:48
testimony and importantly how they felt about the culpability of barbara and janelle potter the feedback
01:22:57
they got was that the women were every bit as guilty as buddy even if they didn't pull the trigger
01:23:06
janelle jamie and barbara were set to face trial on two counts of first-degree murder and
01:23:12
conspiracy to commit first-degree murder barbara also faced the charge of tampering with evidence thanks to her
01:23:20
ill-fated attempt to shred the emails and photos the three would be tried together
01:23:28
then in early 2015 assistant district attorney dennis brooks received a call from jaime's attorney
01:23:38
jaime was prepared to cooperate with the state if it meant having a shot at freedom
01:23:45
he provided a full confession detailing from the moment buddy asked him to do him a favor to
01:23:51
when jaime was dropped off home after buddy executed bill payne and billie jane hayworth
01:23:59
in return for agreeing to testify against the potter women jaime was tried separately with the
01:24:05
lesser charge of facilitation of first degree murder he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to
01:24:12
25 years with the possibility of applying for parole in seven and a half years as he had already served over half of
01:24:22
that his first parole hearing occurred in november 2015. the victims families all opposed parole
01:24:31
with assistant district attorney dennis brooks saying it would be a slap in the face of
01:24:37
justice for jaime kurd to be released so early in his sentence parole was denied with jaime eligible to
01:24:47
try again at a later date in may 2015 the potter women went to trial grey-haired barbara entered court each
01:25:01
day in a wheelchair while her daughter dressed demurely assistant district attorney dennis
01:25:08
brooks opened with the statement this is going to be the stupidest thing you've ever heard
01:25:16
this is going to be the craziest thing you've ever heard there is nothing in your lives or
01:25:22
background that has prepared you to understand the potter family you have never seen
01:25:28
anybody like them even with the jaime now the prosecution's star witness there was no smoking gun
01:25:38
in the pages upon pages of online correspondence neither barbara nor janelle outright
01:25:45
demanded that buddy and jaime go out and kill the defense argued that jaime kurd who
01:25:52
had the know-how and access to the potter's computer was behind the murders and online
01:25:58
personas the defense maintained that jaime was upset because he'd lost his drinking buddy
01:26:05
when bill payne became involved with billie jean hayworth and that he wanted janelle's parents out
01:26:12
of the way so he could have janelle to himself the defense pointed out that jaime had
01:26:19
every opportunity to stop the murders but he didn't janelle's attorney called the state's argument
01:26:27
smoke and mirrors and told the jury the state will have you believe that janelle potter
01:26:34
coerced to jaime kurd a man eight to ten years older than her to complete these acts some feet
01:26:42
when janelle potter operated on the level of an eight or nine year old he also cautioned the jury to remember
01:26:51
that it's not illegal to spew hate into vitriol over the internet in an apparent
01:26:57
admission that his client had done just that the witness who offered the most insight
01:27:05
into janelle potter was her estranged older sister christy christy's childhood was relatively
01:27:13
normal but janelle with all her difficulties received the bulk of their parents attention
01:27:20
christy noted that her parents coddled her little sister always taking care of any issues she
01:27:26
faced including those that were of her own making sought attention by making false health
01:27:34
claims such as that she had cancer at other times she would collapse dramatically in the
01:27:41
hallways waiting for people to notice and make a fuss over her janelle's inability to reason meant that
01:27:49
she was unable to understand when other kids were joking she took things too seriously and in ways the other party
01:27:58
did not intend as a result janelle had trouble making friends and would often get into disagreements
01:28:06
and conflicts her parents would step in and either smooth things over or threatened the other party until they
01:28:14
backed down in middle school a dispute between janelle and another girl went all the
01:28:21
way to court janelle claimed the girl had punched her because janelle was too pretty buddy and barbara drummed
01:28:30
into janelle how different she was and gushed that this made her special and better than other kids
01:28:39
over time christy came to believe that her little sister's disabilities were quote not as bad as everybody else said
01:28:48
they were she felt pushed to the sidelines as her parents were consumed with loving and
01:28:55
protecting their favored daughter janelle she mostly attributed her troubled childhood and strained familial
01:29:03
relationships with her mother christie eventually moved out and severed tyres with
01:29:10
her family she felt that janelle manipulated and deceived other people for her own hands
01:29:16
especially their parents a psychologist told the jury the allegation that jenelle is in some
01:29:28
way a mastermind or a manipulator or a planner i think really flies in the face of the
01:29:33
facts which go back and say that she is functioning basically as a fourth grader when the prosecution
01:29:42
then asked can a nine-year-old be manipulative the psychologist responded nine-year-olds manipulate their parents
01:29:52
all the time [Music] barbara and janelle potter were found to guilty on all charges
01:30:03
both women were sentenced to two life sentences one for each count of first degree
01:30:09
murder unlike buddy who had remained impassive when his sentence was read out barbara and janelle erupted into
01:30:18
dramatic tears barbara at 64 would die in prison janelle at 35 would be in her 80s before
01:30:28
being eligible for parole the relatives of bill and billie jean were even more emotional this time
01:30:36
than they were when buddy had been convicted everyone in town knew what a menace
01:30:42
janelle was and how she had been the cause of so much drama hatred and angst over the years
01:30:50
few had been confident that she would be made to pay for her crimes let alone a murder conviction their
01:30:57
relief was overwhelming bill payne's mother told the press we're still hurting we'll always be
01:31:07
hurting you know bill couldn't call me on mother's day she also had a parting shot for barbara
01:31:16
potter referencing one of the emails that had been read out in court she said barbara
01:31:24
you wanted to know if you'd go to hell yeah you're going to hell and if i have to forgive any of you to stay out of
01:31:33
hell i'll see you there shortly after the trials television program 2020 did a show about the case called
01:31:45
unfriended both barbara and janelle who were serving their sentences in the same
01:31:50
prison were interviewed on camera they continued to deny any involvement in the murders
01:31:59
barbara said jaime kurd had authored all the damning emails using her name i'm not that kind of person she insisted
01:32:09
i'm not evil she believed that she would go to heaven with a clean conscience janelle used a tactic that had always
01:32:21
served her well with her parents when the interviewer confronted her with evidence that she was chris
01:32:28
she sobbed loudly and cried no no no until her lawyer ended the interview agent scott lot was also interviewed and
01:32:40
was at a pains to distance the case from the narrative that it was all about social media
01:32:47
he believed a much more common motive was the true answer janelle poddar had an unrequited crush
01:32:55
on bill payne and was furious that it hadn't been reciprocated he said it wasn't befriending on
01:33:04
facebook it was a jealousy issue and someone with too much time on her hands [Music]
01:33:13
the sentiment in mountain city is that the potter women had manipulated the impressionable
01:33:19
desperate and lonely jaime kurd to do something he would never normally do before meeting the potters jaime had a
01:33:29
no prior history of violence and no criminal history in his book on the case too pretty to
01:33:37
live assistant district attorney dennis brooks expressed some sympathy for the man who had become
01:33:43
the pawn of a jealous controlling and vindictive girl and her overprotective parents
01:33:51
he wrote had the potters not come into jaime's life he would have gone to his grave without
01:33:58
a single incident as a violent criminal i truly believed that online janelle potter often wrote about
01:34:08
her love for her parents she put them down as her heroes adding i have the best mama and daddy in the
01:34:18
world they have really been there for me and they are great people i'm so lucky i am blessed with them
01:34:39
[Music] you

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most heartbreaking
  • 90
    Biggest twist
  • 85
    Most shocking
  • 85
    Most unpredictable

Episode Highlights

  • The Tragic Murders of Bill and Billie Jean
    Bill and Billie Jean were found dead in their home, shocking the close-knit community of Mountain City.
    “It appeared as though the couple had been confronted while they were still in bed.”
    @ 08m 10s
    June 19, 2021
  • A Community in Shock
    The double homicide was the biggest incident Johnson County had seen in a long time.
    “Everybody in Mountain City knew the couple or members of their families.”
    @ 11m 30s
    June 19, 2021
  • Buddy Potter's Arrest
    Following Buddy Potter's arrest, he claims to be a protector of his family.
    “I'm a protector of my family to start with, but I did not do this.”
    @ 30m 55s
    June 19, 2021
  • Harassment and Threats
    Buddy reveals the threats his family faced, including a bounty on their heads.
    “Ever since all this crap started I've had my life threatened.”
    @ 31m 39s
    June 19, 2021
  • Barbara's Alibi
    Barbara Potter provides a firm alibi for Buddy during a tense phone call.
    “Don't worry honey, you were right here. I saw you right here.”
    @ 33m 19s
    June 19, 2021
  • Chris's Violent Intentions
    Chris expresses a desire for violence against those who harmed the Potters.
    “I knew what was ours, saw them, so I had to kill.”
    @ 40m 32s
    June 19, 2021
  • The Importance of Human Connection
    A feeling of security comes from genuine human connections, as emphasized by Simply Safe.
    “It's a feeling of security that only comes through a human connection.”
    @ 52m 26s
    June 19, 2021
  • Escalating Threats
    Janelle's family felt threatened by locals, leading to a dramatic confrontation.
    “They follow me everywhere, they're constantly threatening me.”
    @ 59m 41s
    June 19, 2021
  • A Fateful Decision
    Jaime Kurd was drawn into a dangerous situation, leading to tragic consequences.
    “I couldn't kill no one.”
    @ 01h 13m 12s
    June 19, 2021
  • The End of the Feud
    After a series of events, the conflict reached a deadly conclusion with a text stating, 'The problem was over.'
    “The problem was over.”
    @ 01h 14m 51s
    June 19, 2021
  • Jaime's Confession
    Jaime Kurd cooperated with the state, providing a full confession about the murders.
    “He provided a full confession detailing from the moment Buddy asked him to do a favor.”
    @ 01h 23m 41s
    June 19, 2021
  • Emotional Reactions
    The relatives of the victims expressed overwhelming relief at the convictions of the Potters.
    “Their relief was overwhelming after the verdict was announced.”
    @ 01h 30m 54s
    June 19, 2021

Episode Quotes

  • The baby kind of looks like maybe it's been crying for a while.
    Online vitriol turns deadly in Mountain City
  • Ever since all this crap started I've had my life threatened.
    Online vitriol turns deadly in Mountain City
  • I knew what was ours, saw them, so I had to kill.
    Online vitriol turns deadly in Mountain City
  • I do take things to heart and to let things get to me.
    Online vitriol turns deadly in Mountain City
  • I couldn't kill no one.
    Online vitriol turns deadly in Mountain City
  • You wanted to know if you'd go to hell? Yeah, you're going to hell.
    Online vitriol turns deadly in Mountain City

Key Moments

  • Mountain City Overview01:26
  • January 31, 201202:22
  • Community Reaction11:28
  • Jamie's Background12:23
  • Family Harassment31:22
  • Mysterious Chris37:46
  • Social Media Struggles55:06
  • Online Manipulation1:17:55

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown