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James had slipped and fell. So his shoes were sweat, slippery, and he had hit his head. So I went to the
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bathroom. I came out. He was gone. Did they kill him? Just tell me where his body's at.
00:00:15
On a February evening, Britney and her boyfriend pulled over deep in the Ohio forests with a plan to abandon James,
00:00:22
their six-year-old child. However, as they went to drive away, James was tragically dragged under the wheels of
00:00:28
the car and had his life taken. Days later, they walked into the Middleton Police Department, claiming James had
00:00:34
gone missing. A search began for the boy immediately, but police knew something was wrong. Their story was full of
00:00:40
holes, and the couple seemed nervous. So, they were each taken into an interrogation room with a detective
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determined to get to the bottom of things. I'm Detective New. Okay. They called me
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and my partner out for anything to do with children. So, this is real important. This part is you have to be
00:00:58
100% honest with me with everything. Her boyfriend, who was also called James, was in another room at the same
00:01:04
police station, and detectives are going to compare their stories. There were many red flags right off the bat in this
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case, as the couple claimed he had been missing for most of the night before they decided to contact police. If your
00:01:16
six-year-old had gone missing, you'd likely be doing everything you can to get them back as soon as possible. So,
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the cops were sure something sinister was a foot. So, what happened? What time did you
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guys go to bed last night? Well, the kids go to bed at 9:00. Okay. And we normally go to bed at 10:00.
00:01:32
Mhm. Last time I knew I told them told them all it was 9 9:00 time for bed. So, they all went upstairs to the rooms
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and I went upstairs a little bit later to see if they were asleep. Sure. And they were all asleep. So then that's
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when I came down, waited a couple minutes just to see if they might have come down stairs or something and then I
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went to bed. Okay. What time did you get up this morning? Um, he woke me up at 8.
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He woke you up at 8. He said he tried to wake me up several times, but But you don't medicine. So
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what kind of medicine do you take? I take anxiety meds. Okay. This is where I need you to be
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honest with me. It is what it is. Okay. Do you use any other type of narcotics, drugs, illegal drugs or anything? Do you
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smoke weed? Do you Okay. You don't use heroin? You don't use u No, I've had family members that stuff
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and Okay. Do you know that pushes me away? Do you know if your um boyfriend does?
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Does he use any type of dope at all? Not that you know of. Well, you would know more than anybody. That's what I'm
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asking. You're not going to get him in any trouble. I just need to know if you're being honest with me. That's what
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I'm trying to feel. I mean, I've never seen I mean, we smoke cigarettes. I'm not talking about that. I said
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drugs. Illegal. [clears throat] Of course, a lot of people smoke cigarettes. A lot of people smoke weed.
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A lot of people use I mean, he smokes weed, but that's the only thing I know. Okay, that's all.
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I don't know if he does anything else. Okay, you don't need to protect him. I'm just getting I'm getting a feel for you
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if you're going to be honest. I just need you to be honest with me. honest. Britney appears to have a little trouble
00:03:09
opening up about her boyfriend's drug habit. This can help the detective determine whether she is being honest in
00:03:15
the future, as she should treat opening up about later details with similar ease. They continue to go over the
00:03:21
details for the morning James went missing. But during this line of questioning, Britany begins to show some
00:03:26
concerning signs. What time did James say that he first noticed James missing? The the
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six-year-old missing. Well, he I don't know what time he exactly got up, but he normally every
00:03:40
day normally he gets up around 4. Anywhere from 4:00 to 5, maybe sometimes a little later. But
00:03:47
when Britney is asked more questions about her boyfriend, she appears to look up and to the left. There's a lot of
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contention around eye movements while recalling information. Some say the direction that someone looks is a direct
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tell for if someone is lying, but it's never a guaranteed indication. However, the mere act of suddenly avoiding eye
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contact with the detective while answering is a more solid sign, as many people associate eye contact with trust.
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Thus, it's often hard for people to maintain a gaze while lying. Whereas, those trying to argue the truth will
00:04:19
often look directly into the detective's eyes to seem more believable. Has James
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ever walked out? I mean, been missing before. Um, he's he was missing once before.
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How long ago was that? Um, I want to say it was the first of the month, but it could have been later
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than that, but I know it was sometime this month. All right. From that house? Yes.
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All right. So, he was missing once before from that house. And how long was he gone for? Um,
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I don't know when he was outside, but we found out Well, he found him at the the
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you know how there's basement stairs. Well, he found him at the bottom of the basement stairs. I don't know what he
00:04:57
was doing, but Is there only one way to get into your basement? Yeah, that's from the outside.
00:05:01
Mhm. [clears throat] Okay. The fact that James has been missing before is another red flag for the
00:05:06
detective. It's possible James is just an adventurous child and tries to slip away at every opportunity he gets. but
00:05:13
it could also be a sign of abuse or neglect in the home. Either way, it's giving the detective all the more reason
00:05:19
to be suspicious. I've been a policeman for 27 years. Um, I've been assigned to detectives about
00:05:27
I've interviewed a lot of people, hundreds, hundreds and hundreds of people over my career. There's something
00:05:32
going on here. Something's not right here. I've done this, like I said, I've interviewed hundreds hundreds of people
00:05:37
over my career. And, you know, people get scared. they get themselves backed into a corner and they don't know what
00:05:42
to do. And my job is to help them through that because sometimes it is what it is. It's an act something
00:05:48
happened and you parents freak out and um you know don't know what to do. So just [clears throat] anything else
00:05:56
before I walk out of here, this is your opportunity to be 100% straight with me.
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I suspect James or this is I got mad at the boy last night and he I spanked him and he took off out the door or just
00:06:08
anything weird is fine to tell me. You're not going to tell me anything that's going to surprise me. Okay.
00:06:14
No, I mean, did you hurt your baby? No. Now, do you know I love my kids. I would never hurt
00:06:21
Okay. Do you know who hurt your baby? No. All right. Do you know your baby's whereabouts right now?
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Okay. Do you do you suspect James is doing anything to your baby? No. Okay. You're 100% sure on that one?
00:06:36
Yeah. He loves him right now. Okay. Note that the detective is making a conscious effort to refer to James as
00:06:43
her baby. This is in a direct attempt to exact an emotional reaction from Britney. This kind of specific word
00:06:50
holds a lot more weight than just kid or child, as it portrays James as more vulnerable. The detective is also trying
00:06:57
to let Britney know that he's sure something is wrong. And as he'll soon find out, his instincts are absolutely
00:07:03
correct. What was the needle that we found out at the There was a needle found at the side
00:07:09
door. You know anything about that? So, do you use needles for any of your medication?
00:07:14
No, there's u the people next doors. Okay. So, maybe it was from one of them. Is that what you're saying?
00:07:21
Yeah. And all we always see a whole bunch of people just walking in through the Oh yeah.
00:07:26
Cutting it. Cutting through basically. But you ever seen James you had any needles?
00:07:31
So you said something about James does work like doing electrical work for houses.
00:07:40
Yes. Like rentals I would assume. Yes. All right. Like he gets them ready. Who does he work for?
00:07:46
Taylor. That's the only thing I know. His name is Taylor. And was Taylor just gave him the keys. Are these are they
00:07:51
all vacant? I would assume. Um I'm not sure. They go clean them out. What do they do?
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Do you know? I know. Like when they put people out and they get evicted and they sit
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people's stuff out, put it I don't know if they sit it out, put it in the dumpster. I don't I don't know what they
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do. Does he have like keys to the house? James, does he have keys to the houses and stuff? I guess that he works for
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Did he ever come in with a bunch? I mean, you would know. I mean, did he come up with a bunch of keys or
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he's always had the same key that he has, but nothing like extra keys that he could.
00:08:24
Basically, I'm waiting for my guy to come here. He's going to do the polygraph for me, and we'll just kind of
00:08:29
go from there. Britney now tries to avoid the questions regarding her boyfriend's drug use. But
00:08:34
if she does agree to take a polygraph test, then the truth could finally be revealed. All this time, there have been
00:08:40
people searching for James, hoping to find signs of life. But as we'll later find out, his body isn't anywhere near
00:08:46
where they're looking. I'm getting a story that is totally different than what you've told me. And
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I don't know why James is telling me that, but that's what he's telling me. He's wanting to more detail than that.
00:08:57
Okay? But I'm not going to share that with you. I need to know what happened last night with your your boy, your
00:09:04
six-year-old. A six-year-old just doesn't get up and walk out the door. Okay? There's more to the story than
00:09:11
what you're telling me. Okay. I've talked to James. My partner's talked to James extensively
00:09:19
and James is coming off of this slowly. I would suggest for you just tell me the
00:09:25
truth now. He might have told me more now. I don't know. I've not I've been in here with you. Okay. But James is he
00:09:31
took a deep breath and I suggest that to you. Take a drink of your pop. Take a deep breath and just tell me what's
00:09:35
going on here. Now Britney finds herself in a position where she might doubt exactly what James has told detectives
00:09:41
in the other room. And she finally cracks. He told James told me to get rid of the
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kids. Okay. And so um I took them for a drive to make them think I want to get rid of them. But I'm not
00:10:01
going to get rid of my kids for anybody else on the planet. Even though she's getting closer to the truth, Britney is
00:10:06
still trying to deceive the detective by trying to convince him that getting rid
00:10:10
of her kids isn't something she'd really do, despite that being exactly what she's guilty of.
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I don't know what road it was. It was just we were just driving around. Um well, the kids were going to the
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bathroom. I had pulled over to this um a little booth in Middletown. Yeah. It's a little
00:10:34
stall or something a bathroom. I pulled over to the bathroom and let them all use the
00:10:42
bathroom. Well, it was raining and stuff. I left the left the door unlocked in the van.
00:10:47
Mhm. And told them we'll all go in here. Not all of us at once, but each one of us go in here one
00:10:55
at a time. Use the bathroom. So, we went in the bathroom. Well, I couldn't go in there, but when I
00:11:02
went to go in the bathroom, I told him, "Go ahead and just get in the van." Mhm.
00:11:06
Well, James had slipped and fell. So, his shoes are wet, slippery, and he had hit his head.
00:11:15
The problem here is simple. If James had simply hit his head, then why not just get medical help then and there? Britney
00:11:21
is trying to take away as much blame as she can from herself. The truth was, Britney had simply decided she wanted to
00:11:27
get rid of her kids for good. allegedly at the request of her boyfriend. Both she and James drove her three children
00:11:33
to Rush Run Wildlife Area in southern Preel County where they had a change of heart and decided to only leave their
00:11:39
youngest, James. But as they tried to drive away from the park without him, he tried to grab onto the car and was
00:11:45
dragged under the wheels. Sadly, the accident killed him and Britney and James returned to find his body in the
00:11:52
road. The detective suspicions have been right all along. After Britney and James
00:11:56
drove home, they placed the six-year-old's body in a spare room of their house before they dumped his body
00:12:01
off a bridge that crosses the Ohio River. Did it kill him? Is that what you're telling me? Did it Did the fall hurt
00:12:07
him? Well, he was I asked him if he was okay. He wouldn't answer me. So, I noticed he was
00:12:16
breathing kind of heavy. Mhm. And I thought maybe that's not normal. I've never seen a blurry lips before.
00:12:25
Well, he was breathing. I don't know how long he was breathing for, but he had fell and busted his head
00:12:32
on the side of the van. Mhm. And trying to get in there. And he was breathing heavy for a couple
00:12:39
minutes and then he I couldn't I tried a secure. So, he stopped breathing. And where's
00:12:48
his body at? He's doing good. Okay. Just tell me where his body's at cuz I got to
00:12:53
go find him. I for you. Okay. This is called Cloer now. Okay. Where's Where's his body at? Where did
00:13:03
you take it back home with you? No, I left it. And you left it. So, who's all in the
00:13:08
car with you? All of us. James, you? Yes, we always as a family. So, all five of you?
00:13:16
Yes. All right. And where what park was this? Or where was this at in Middletown?
00:13:22
Because it would make sense to put to me. Did you put him in a dumpster? Did you put him Did you just let him lay
00:13:28
right there? Was he buried? I mean, that's what I need to know. I didn't do nothing with him. I just let
00:13:34
him lay in the parking lot cuz it was a plain parking lot. There was, I believe,
00:13:40
like water over here or something. Mhm. And there was a one little stall and I left him just lay on the ground.
00:13:52
Okay. Did James did James do anything with him? Your uh boyfriend? I mean, it doesn't make sense just to
00:14:00
lay him right there on the ground. So, well, I left him laying in there on the ground cuz I was going to call the
00:14:04
ambulance, but I was right. I was scared, shook up, didn't know what to do. Okay. So,
00:14:10
so now we need to figure out where this is at. Well, he the b the little boy was laying
00:14:18
on the ground. I went to the bathroom, told him try you try real quick cuz I I couldn't hold myself. I told him, "You
00:14:25
try real quick to give him CPR." Mhm. And so I went to the bathroom, I came out, he was gone.
00:14:31
Regardless of how true her story is, Britney has now told the detective that James is dead. The priority is to find
00:14:38
him. After Britney details the moment they dumped his body, police are able to search the area. But despite their best
00:14:44
efforts, they would never find him. Britney would plead not guilty by reason of insanity, claiming that she had a
00:14:51
learning disability and did not understand what was happening. But an evaluation by a psychologist showed that
00:14:56
she was competent to stand trial. Of course, both were found guilty, and Britney would face the harshest
00:15:01
punishment. She would be sentenced to murder and child endangerment totaling 21 years in prison. James, on the other
00:15:08
hand, was found guilty of kidnapping, child endangerment, and gross abuse of a corpse, and would be given the maximum
00:15:14
sentence of 19